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PREFACE.
FROM time immemorial it has been the custom to give
every youngster a name, and so the author has chris-
tened this unpretentious vokune " The Watch Factories of
America." This little work is not intended to be elaborate
or even perfect, nor does it present anything nevs^ or start-
ling in the way of discovery, but is simply a collection of
facts, recorded in presentable shape, in connection with
the rise and development of one of the most marvelous
growths of mechanical genius of this wonder-working
nineteenth century.
Within the memory of yet active workers at the trade,
this branch of industry has grown from the humble factory
of Luther Goddard,with its weekly product of two watches,
to the mammoth Waltham and Elgin factories, with their
daily output of as many thousands, of the finest productions
of mechanical pi^ecision as the world has ever seen. Surely
such a developement deserves a history, and whether or
not I have succeeded in giving it, I leave you, gentle
reader, to decide. One thing is certain, that from the
" Nuremburg Egg," to the last novelty in watch making,
whatever that may be, the past fifty years of the nineteenth
century, in our own favored land, has more than surpassed
the endeavors of the intervening centuries, with all the
glorious achievements of the fine workers of England,
France and Switzerland ; they originated, but the Yankee
developed and multiplied, and has " waxed exceedingly
great" in the art of modern horology.
The Author.
THE
WATCH FACTORIES
OF AMERICA
PAST AND PRESENT
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF WATCHMAKING IN AMERICA, FROM
1S09 TO 18SS INCLUSIVE, WITH SKETCHES OF THE
LIVES OF CELEBRATED AMERICAN WATCH-
MAKERS AND ORGANIZERS.
BY HENRY G. ABBOTT
a
ILLUSTRATED WITH 50 ENGRAVINGS
CHICAGO:
Geo. K. Hazlitt & Co., Publishers, 341-3S1 Dearborn Street,
1S88.
COPYKIGHT, iSSS,
GEO. K. HAZLITT & CO.
■l<^s^S-\
AARON L. DENNISON.
CONTENTS.
Chapteb. Page.
I. Aaron L. Dennison . . - . . g
II. Luther Goddard. Pitkin Bros. The
American Horologe Company. The War-
ren Mfg. Company. N. B. Sherwood. The
American Waltham Watch Company - 15
III. The Nashua Watch Company - - 33
IV. Edward Howard. E. Howard Watch and
Clock Company .... - 37
V. The Newark Watch Company. The Cor-
nell Watch Company . - . - 45
VI. The United States Watch Company of
N. J. The Marion Watch Company - 51
VII. The Elgin National Watch Company - 55
VIII. J. C. Adams 67
IX. The Tremont and Melrose Watch Com-
panies 69
X. The Mozart Watch Company of Provi-
dence. The New York Watch Company 71
XI. The Mozart Watch Company of Ann
Arbor. The Rock Island Watch Com-
pany. The Freeport Watch Company - 75
XII. The Illinois Watch Company - - 79
XIII. The Rockford Watch Company - - . S3
XIV. The Adams & Perry Watch Mfg. Com-
pany. The Lancaster Watch Company.
The Keystone Watch Company - - 85
XV. The Fitchburg Watch Company - - 91
XVI. The Auburndale Watch Company - - 93
Chapter.
XVII. The Hampden Watch Company
XVIII. The Waterbury Watch Company -
XIX. Independent Watch Company. Fredonia
Watch Company . . - - .
XX. The Bowman Watch
XXI. Columbus Watch Company . . . .
XXII. Aurora Watch Company ....
XXIII. Trenton Watch Company - . -
XXIV. Charles S. Moseley. P. S. Bartlett
XXV. Cheshire Watch Company. Manhattan
Watch Company
XXVI. The Self Winding Watch. The United
States Watch Company of Waltham
XXVII, The Peoria Watch Company. The N. Y.
Standard, Seth Thomas and Wichita
Companies -
Page_
97
lOI
109
"3
"5
119
123
127
133
137
141
THE
WATCH FACTORIES
OF AMERICA.
THE term watchmaker, in America, does not necessarily-
imply one who manufactures ^vatches, but is more
generally applied to those who make a business of repair-
ing and cleaning time pieces. In days gone by, a watch-
maker was a mechanic of no mean order, capable of making
and fitting any part of a watch, no matter what make the
watch might have been or how complicated its construction,
which through negligence on the part of the owner became
deranged or broken. To-day, a watchmaker need be
possessed of only ordinary mechanical skill and intelligence
in order to repair any watch of American manufacture, and
all this change has come about by the manufactru'ers of the
various movements working on the interchangeable system,
first applied to watchmaking in America by Mr. Aaron L. .
Dennison in 1850.
AARON L. DENNISON.
Aaron L. Dennison was the son of a shoemaker of Free-
port, Me. He was born in the year 1812, and in 1822 we
find him carrying a mason's hod in the village of Topsham.
In 1825 we find him earning his own living, though but
thirteen years of age, by sawing wood in the town of Bruns-
wick, his father having removed to the latter place in 1824.
Two years later he might have been found working at his
lO THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
father's trade. At eighteen years of age he began to grow
tired of cobbling. He was of a mechanical turn of mind
and was much interested in watchmaking . and kindred
mechanical work, and his father recognizing this fact
apprenticed him to James Carey, a watchmaker of Bruns-
wick, in 1830. In 1833 he left Brunswick, to perfect him-
self as a journeyman watchmaker, entering the employ of
Cvu'rier & Trot, of Boston. Shortly after, he went into
business for himself, but soon gave it up to enter the employ
oi Messrs. Jones, Low & Ball. While at work here he
received the benefit of the advice of Mr. Tubal Hone, then
•considered one of the finest watchmakers in the country;
and it was here in the year 1835 ^^^^^ ^^'- Dennison dis-
•covered the inaccuracies of workmanship and construction
-which existed in even the best of hand-made v^atches. In
a letter written at that time he said: " Within a year I
have examined watches made by a man whose reputation at
"this moment is far beyond that of any other w^atchmaker in
London, and have found in them such workmanship as I
-should blush to have it supposed had passed from under my
hands in our lower grade of work. Of course I. do not
mean to say that there is not work in these watches of the
highest grade possible to carry the finisher's art, but errors
■do creep in and are allowed to pass the hands of competent
■examiners, and it needs but slight acquaintance with our ar;
to discover that the lower grade of foreign watches are"
hardly as mechanically correct in their construction as a
common wheelbarrow. "
From Boston he went to New York city, but in 1839 we
again find him in Boston, in business for himself. Here he
did repairing for the trade and carried a line of tools and
materials. A few yeai's later we find him carrying a full
line of watches and jewelry and doing a thriving business.
About this time he invented the " Dennison Standard
PAST AND PRESENT. II
"Gauge, " and began to turn his thoughts upon the manu-
facture of watches on what is now known as the " Inter-
changeable System. "
We will hei-e use Mr. Dennison's own words :
" The principal thinking up of the matter was done when
I was in business at the corner of Bromfield and Washing-
ton Streets, Boston; and many a night after I had done a
good day's work at the store and a good evening's work at
home, in repairing watches for personal friends, I used to
stroll out upon the common and give my mind full play
upon this project; and now, as far as I can recollect
what my plans then were as to system and methods to be
employed, they were identical with those in existence at
"the principal vv^atch factories at the present time." *
Mr. Dennison predicted, in the year 1S46, that within
twenty years the manufacture of watches would be reduced
to as much system and perfection and with the same expe-
dition that fire-arms were then made in the Springfield
armory. He often visited this armory and took great inter-
est in examining the various processes of finishing fire-arms.
In 1849 a friend of Mr. Dennison, Mr. Edward Howard,
a clock and scale maker of Boston, had a long talk with
• him in regard to the manufacture of American locomo-
ttives. Mr. Dennison did not agree v\^ith Mr. Howard in his
idea of locomotive manufactui-e, but soon convinced him
" that the manufacture of watches, in large quantities on
the interchangeable plan, v^^ould prove a more profitable
undertaking. Mr. Howard soon became as enthusiastic
over the idea as Mr. Dennison and together they went in
search of a capitalist who was willing to risk some money
in the experiment. This gentleman was found in the per-
son of Mr. Samuel Curtis, of Boston, who furnished
*Dr. Leonard Waldo's address, delivered before the Society of Arts, London,
May 19, 1SS6.
12 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
$20,000 with which to try the experiment. Mr. Howard's
partner, Mr. D. P. Davis, was also interested in the experi-
ment. The projectors inet together at an early date to
make arrangements in regard to the starting of the factory
and buying the necessary material. We will again quote
from Mr. Dennison's own words :
" I suggested that the first money spent in the undertak-
ing should be for a tour of observation in the watchmaking
districts in England, with the view of ascertaining whether
the trade of watchmaking was carried on there on the system
represented to me by English workmen I had employed
from time to time in repairing. Another object I had in
view was to find out the source of supply for the necessary
materials, such as enamel for dials, jewels, etc."
Mr. Dennlson started for Europe and after thoroughly
looking over the ground, writes :
" I found that the matter had been correctly represented,
but in carrying out their system one-half the truth had not
been told. How that the party setting up as manufacturer
of watches bought his Lancashire movements — a conglom-
ei^ation of rough materials — and gave them out to A, B, C,
and D to have them finished; and how A, B, C, and D,
gave out the different jobs of pivoting certain wheels of the
train to E, certain other parts to F, and the fusee cutting to
G. Dial-making, jeweling, gilding, motioning, etc., to
others, down almost the entire length of the alphabet; and
how that, taking these various pieces of work to outside
workpeople — who, if sober enough to be at their places,
were likely to be engaged on some one's work who had
been ahead of them, and how, under such circumstances, he
would take the occasion to drop into a ' pub ' to drink and
gossip, and, perhaps, luifit himself for work the remainder
of the day. Finding things in this condition as a matter of
course, my theory of Americans not finding any difficulty
PAST AND PRESENT. I3
in competing withtheEnglish, especially if the interchange-
able system and manufacturing in large quantities was
adopted, may be accepted as reasonable."
While Mr. Dennison was looking over the ground in
Europe, Mr. Howai'd was engaged in erecting a factory,
and on the return of Mr, Dennison, work was immedi-
ately commenced. It is not our object to follow the history
of this factory just here, as it will be taken up later on, but
simply to give a short sketch of Mr. Dennison's career.
Suffice it to say, therefore, that the factory was built, the
tools manufactured and everj^thing started in 1851, and the
first watches were placed upon the market in 1853. The
company was not a financial success and they finally made
an assignment in 1857. Mr. Dennison was then employed
by his successors as superintendent, filling that position until
December, 1861.
In 1S64, Mr. Dennison interested Mr. A. O. Bigelow, of
Boston, in a new factory, of which we will speak in due
time. Mr. Dennison's past experience had taught him that
to start a watch factory the projectors must be bountifully
supplied with money, and must be prepared to sink a great
deal before realizing a single dollar. Owing to the high price
of labor at this time and the necessities above described,
Mr. Dennison reasoned that it would be better to have
certain portions of the movements made in Switzerland,
imported to the United States, and setup with the remain-
ing portions which were to be made in America.
Accordingly, Mr. Dennison went to Switzerland, and
after thoroughly looking over the ground decided that
Zurich was the best location. He here gathered the neces-
sary material together, set up the trains and sent them to
Boston. Everything went along swimmingly until 1866,
when the directors of the company decided to build a new
factory at Melrose, Mass., and make the entire watch there.
14 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
This new idea, however, Mr. Dennison did not approve of, as^
the company was doing very well as it was, and the change
would involve more or less risk. Accoi'dingly, in a short
time after, he withdrew from the company. Mr. Dennison
remained in Sw^itzerland until 1870, having taken a contract
to furnish certain material for the Melrose Company. The
company having failed, Mr. Dennison returned to America
and tried to interest capital in reviving it. Failing in this^
however, he soon went to England, where he interested
capitalists, and the plant w^as purchased and a factory opened.
Mr. Dennison is in no w^ay connected with this company,,
which is still running under the name of the " English
Watch Company," but is engaged in watch case manufactur-
ing in Birmingham, where it is said he is doing a thriving,
business.
CHAPTER II.
IT would be a very hard thing to determine just who the
first manufacturer of watches in America was, since in
the beginning- of the nineteenth century many of the trade
manufactured movements in small quantities, either to order
or for the purpose of carrying in stock until such time as a
purchaser might turn up. These watches were of necessity
hand- made, and the manufacturers depended considerably
upon Europe for supplies, such as hands, springs, jewels,
balances, etc.
In 1S09, Luther Goddard, of Shrewsbury, Mass., com-
menced to manufacture watches of the verge pattern, in
somewhat larger quantities than had been attempted before.
Mr, Goddard could not compete with the cheap foreign
watches, however, and retired from the business in 1817^
having manufactured about 500 w^atches. This was the
greatest number of watches ever made by any one manu-
facturer in America up to this time.
Following closely in the wake of Mr. Goddard, in 1S12,,
an establishment for the manufacture of watches was started
in Worcester, Mass. The establishment w^as small, and
was suspended shortly after for want of ready funds. In
183S the first machine-made watch ever made in America
was placed upon the market. It was known as the Pitkin
watch, and was manufactured by two brothers, James and
Henry Pitkin, at Hartford, Conn. These movements were
three-quarter plate, slow train and about the diameter of the
modern i6-size. The machinery used in their manufacture
15
.l6 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
was very crude, and was all made by the Pitkin Bros.
The Pitkin watch, however, fared the same fate as its pre-
decessors. The cost of manufactui-e was too great to com-
pete with those made by the Swiss, and shortly after moving
the factory to New York, which they did in 1841, the idea
•was abandoned. The total product of the Pitkins was
about 800 movements.
Following Pitkin Bros., came several other small manu-
facturers, but nothing impoi'tant in this line was attempted
until the year 1849, when the nucleus of what is now
known as the American Waltham Watch Company was
■established.
A person standing on Crescent street, Waltham, and gaz-
ing upon the mamriioth structvu'e occupied by the Ameri-
can Waltham Watch Company as a factory, a building
whose frontage occvipies nearly yoo feet, within whose walls
2,800 workmen are daily employed, and from which 7,500
time-keepers are turned out weekly, can scarcely realize that
tlie company has seen failure and disaster staring them in
the face on more than one occasion ; but such is a fact. The
road to success is not always strewn with roses, and although
the company is now one of the largest of its kind in the
world, yet it has struggled with adversity, and has seen the
time when, w^e might say, the toss of a penny would have
decided whether they would continue, or give up in despair.
In the fall of the year, 1849, Mr. Dennison commenced
to build machinery for the manufacture of watches on the
interchangeable system, having -associated himself with
Howard & Davis, as described in the pi'evious chapter. A
small room was divided off in Howard & Davis' factory, and
there Mr. Dennison commenced work on his machines. In
1850 a small factory -was built opposite Howard & Davis'
shop, and some English and Swiss watchmakers put to
work. Mr. Dennison's machinery was not a success, how-
PAST AND PRESENT.
17
ever, and one of Howard & Davis' men v\ras detailed to help
Mr. Dennison, and after numerous attempts, they finally
succeeded in getting together a few tools and machines of
anything but perfect construction.
In the summer of 1S50, Mr. Dennison completed the
(model of the first watch, which corresponded with the full
plate i8-size of to-day. This watch was made to run eight
days, but proved to be a failure, and its place was filled by
a one-day watch. At this time the firm was known as "The
American Horologe Company," and consisted of A. L
Dennison, E. Howard, D. P. Davis and Sam'l Curtis. Mr.
Curtis took no active part in the management of the con-
cern, but fvirnished most of the money with which the
buildings and machinery were bviilt. After a lapse of about
one year the name of the company was changed to " The
Warren Manufacturing Company," and the first hundred
w^atches bore that name. The first watches were actually
placed upon the market in 1S53. The name " Samuel
Curtis " was substituted for " Warren " on the next six or
seven hundred watches, the reason being that the name,
•" The Warren Manufacturing Company," was abandoned as
being unfitting, and the name, " Boston Watch Company "
•was used instead. These watches were i8-size, full plate,
slow train and were sold at $40.
In 1853 Mr. Dennison became dissatisfied with the loca-
tion of the factory, as it was very dusty in summer and
proper accomodations for the dwellings of the employes
could not be obtained. He visited Waltham and looked
over the land at Stony Brook, trying to purchase from Mr.
Sibley a tract of land, which is now occupied in part by N.
L. Sibley's machine shop, a spot which attracted the atten-
tion of Mr. Dennison by its romantic scenery and its location,
being out of the regular line of travel. Failing to make
terms with Mr. Sibley, he called upon a friend, Mr. S. P.
l8 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Emerson, who at that time was in the machine shop of the
Boston Manufacturing Company, and to whom he confided
the object of his visit. Mr. Emerson suggested the Bemis
farm as being in the market and a suitable site. The land
was examined and found desirable, and Mr. Emerson sub-
sequently introduced Mr. Dennison to prominent citizens of
Waltham, who became interested and took hold of the
matter, until on March 24, 1854, " The Waltham Improve-
ment Company " was incorporated by special act of the
legislature, with a capital stock of $100,000, " The Boston
Watch Company" owning thirty shares of $100 each.
The building for the watch factory was staited at once, and
was ready for occupancy October 5, 1S54. At this time the
company was making about five watches per day, and em-
ployed about ninety hands.
After removing to Waltham, the movements were
engraved " Dennison, Howard and Davis." About this
time Mr. Howard made the acquaintance of Mr. N. B.
Sherwood, who then resided in New York City, and placed
him in charge of the jeweling department. We will here
deviate from the subject long enough to give a short sketch
of the life of Mr. Sherwood, who was one of the most
remarkable and able mechanics ever connected with a watch
factoi-y.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE SHERWOOD.
Mr. Sherwood was born in 1823, was educated in Albany
Academy, under Prof. Beck, and graduated with high
honors. From a boy he w^as passionately fond of mathe-
matics, astronomy and chemistry, and was a born mechani-
cal genius. After graduating from Albany Academy he
decided to practice medicine, and no young man ever gave
more brilliant promise of becoming eminent in that profes-
sion. For some reason he suddenly took a dislike to the
PAST AND PRESENT. I^
calling, and through the influence of a friend, who was a
dentist, he engaged in that profession for a time, and was
one of the first to realize that the old crucibles thrown away
by dentists contained a great deal of gold. At that time all
plates were made of gold or silver. He was anxious to see
more of the world, so he traveled westwaixl. He was ac-
companied by his dentist friend, and when their money
gave out they would stop in some town a few weeks and
would soon have all the work they could do, as Mr. Sher-
wood was a fine talker and had no trouble in securing
patronage. When work slacked up they would resume
their travels, and they finally landed in Chicago. They
soon ran short of money and not being able to secvu'e any
dental work, Mr. Sherwood entered the office of an engin-
-eer and soon secured a position as draughtsman, and shortljr
after was put in charge of a surveying corps and made a
survey for a railroad. His friend was one of the chain
bearers. He soon had money enough to I'esume his travels,
when he and his friend pushed on southward.
Finally their money again gave out and Mr. Sherwood
secured a position as draughtsman in the office of a machine
shop, getting a position for his friend in the shop. He
finally drifted to Pennsylvania, where he opened a drug
store. While engaged in the drug business he took up the
study of watchmaking. About this time he married Miss
Mary Van Valkenburg. His drug store venture not prov-
ing a success, he gave it up and went to Jefferson, a small
village in Ashtabula County, Ohio, where he opened a.
watchmaker's shop, also taking a class in the higher mathe-
matics in the school there. He made a good support for
his family but could lay up no money, so in the spring of
1853, at the solicitation of some of his friends, he opened a
machine shop. He made his own drawings, and when his-
blacksinith would get on a spree he would do his owrt
:20 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
forging. Jefferson proved to be too small a place for a
watchmaker or machine shop, so about 1855 he went to
New York, where he engaged as a traveling salesman for
a notion house, and on one of his home visits made the
acquaintance of Mr. Willson, a son-in-law of Mr. Curtis,
and by him was invited to visit Waltham and the watch
factory, with the hope that he could be induced to remain
there. Seeing the opening for the exercise of his talents in
mechanics, this was no difficult matter, and on the other
hand Mr. Howard saw in him the material his firm needed,
A gentleman well acquainted with Mr. Sherwood,
recently said: "He was a wonderful man; a thorough
mechanic, gifted with the highly retentive memory and per-
ceptive powers that seemed almost intuitive. He had the
faculty of being able to grasp any subject of mechanics
which was brought to his notice, and his fertile brain
and faculty for imparting information, made him an interest-
ing companion and valuable -writer and instructor. Unlike
other mechanics and inventors, he seemed to grasp the
whole idea and work out his problem almost instantaneous."
His connection with the Waltham factory gave him
: abundant opportunity to bring his inventive genius into
play in originating new tools to do work formerly done by
hand. He not only conceived new ideas, but being an
excellent draughtsman, he placed them on paper, and then
•entering the machine shop, he, with his own hands, made
and put them together.
Under his charge the jeweling department soon made a
complete revolution. New systems and methods of doing
work were introduced, new machines made and the amount
•of work turned out was doubled. Many of the tools used
to-day in our watch factories w^ere invented and first built
by Mr. Sherwood. A list and description of the various
tools invented by this remarkable man would fill a good
N. B. SHERWOOD.
PAST AND PRESENT. 23
-sized volume, and we will confine our remarks to but a few
of them. He invented what is known as the " Counter-
sinker or screw head tool," for jewel screws; " The End-
shake Tools;" The Opener " and " The Truing-up Tools."
■" The End-shake Tools," were truly wonderful machines,
being self-measuring and so constructed that no matter to
what depth the shoulder was cut in the upper plates, by
putting the plate against one end of one of the tools, and
the jewel with its setting in a spring chuck the tool would
cut a shoulder on the setting that would bring the
face of each and every jewel exactly flush with the
under side of the plate when the setting was put in. The
jewels were then reversed and put into another chuck and
the top of the setting cut down by this magic tool until it
"would come exactly flush with the top of the plate, or
rather leave just enough projecting above to allow for
polishing. After the jewel settings were " stripped " or
polished, they were put into the plates where they belonged
never to be removed again. As the plate was already
gilded, next the holes for the scre\vs were tapped out and
the holes bored for each screw-head on the screw-head tool,
that would leave the head of the screw exactly flush with
the top of the plate and not raise any burr. The end-shake
tool was certainly the perfection of self-measuring tools.
By it the shoulder was cut on the setting of the lower holes,
'(the holes in the plate being first bored out with a shoulder),
so as to give each pinion and staff the exact amount of end-
shake required. With these tools one man could do nicer
work and more of it than any five men could do in the
ordinary way.
The so-called " Opener " was another ingenious tool. Mr.
Shei"wood found that it was impossible to open a jewel hole
"by hand so that the hole would be absolutely round, and
:accordingly he produced a tool which would do the work
24 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
not only perfectly but rapidly. He never patented any of
his inventions, for he never took a pecuniary view of the
value of them. His whole purpose and life was devoted to
perfecting the article or tool he had in hand, and when that
was accomplished, he was ready for something else. Many
of his inventions can be found in daily use in the watch fac-
tories of the United States to-day. Some of the minor
details of these machines have been improved on, but in
many cases no improvements have been made in the
machines, as orginally built by him, as far back as iS6o.
Mr. Sherwood left the employ of Mr. Howard in the fall
of 185S, to go into business with Mr. James Queen, in New
York City. The death of his wife, which occured in the
spring of 1S59, played sad havoc with him. She left him
with two children, both girls. The youngest child died
when an infant and the eldest was cared for by the
mother's relatives. She married Mr. David Botsford, of
Adrian, Mich., and is now living in Allen, Mich. Shortly
after the death of his wife, Mr. Sherwood became restless
and dissatisfied. In the summer of 1859 he dissolved part-
nership with Mr. Queen and went to Cleveland, Ohio,
where he entered the employ of Mr. Crittenden. In the
fall of 1859, he left Cleveland and returned to New York,
He then went to Perth Amboy, N. J., where he started a
small shop and did fairly well. He was very desirous of
enlisting in the civil war, but his poor health prevented him
doing so.
In 1864, Mr. Sherwood interested capitalists and organized
the " Newark Watch Company." A misunderstanding
occurred, however, in a few months and Mr. Sherwood
retired. He died of consumption in New York City, in
October, 1872, in his 40th year. He was of a generous nature,
always ready to help the poor, and he would deny himself
a meal or a coat any day of his life, to feed and clothe a men-
PAST AND PRESENT.
25
THE GODDARD WATCH.
dicant. In his prosperous days he always carried a pocket-
full of pennies which he would distribute among the street-
arabs whom he might meet. Mr.Sherwood was an able writer
and his articles, which appeared in The American Horo-
logical yournal^ were read
with great interest by the
trade.
Mr. Sherwood was a man
who possessed more general
information than falls to the
lot of most men. He was
up on all scientific subjects,
and kept up with the cur-
rent literature of the day.
Anything pertaining to mathematics had a charm for him;
he delighted in difficult algebraic problems, was a rapid
reader, and could read, and take in ten pages to any ordi-
nary person's one. He never forgot what he read or heard.
He could read a description of a city that he had never
seen, and long afterwards
give a detailed account of
the streets, homes and noted
people.
We will now revert back
to our original subject, the
American Watch Com-
pany, w^hich we left to give
the foregoing sketch of
Mr. Sherwood.
The fall of 1S56 found
the watch company in des-
perate circumstances. All
the ready money of the company had been expended, and
the sales of watches were very slow. Matters went from
THE PITKIN WATCH.
26
WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
bad to worse, until the spring of 1S57, when the company
made an assignment. The assignee offered the property
for sale, and it "was bid in by Mr. Royal E. Robbins for
$56,500, for himself and the firm of Tracy & Baker, of
Philadelphia, who were creditors of the defunct company,
having furnished them with cases. The property con-
sisted of the real estate, factory, and numerous other build-
ings, the machinery, steam engine, shafting, etc., together
with the material unmanufactured and in process of manu-
facture.
THE WALTHAM FACTORY IN 1S57.
The new firm was known as Tracy, Baker & Co., but
Mr. Baker having a case business to look after, and having
had a good offer made him by Mr. Robbins, decided to sell
out his interest. Mr. Robbins then associated himself with
Mr. James Appleton, and the firm was known as Appleton,
Tracy & Co. The winter of 1857 pi'oved a rough one for
the new company. Money was scarce and times hard, and
in the spiing following Mr. Robbins about made up his
mind to remove the factory nearer to New York, which
was then the market for his goods. He finally made the
Improvement Company a proposition to consolidate, which
PAST AND PRESENT.
27
was accepted, the Watch Company being put in at $225,-
000 and the Improvement Company at $75,000. The con-
soHdation took place in the summer of 1858. Early in the
year 1859 the name of the company was changed to the
American Watch Company, with a capital stock of $300,-
000, Mr. Robbins being elected treasurer and general busi-
ness manager.
John J. Lynch went to work for the Boston Watch Com-
pany in May, 1 852-, and when the factory was removed to
AMERICAN WALTHAM WATCH COMPANY'S FACTORY.
Waltham in 1854 he was employed in the jeweling room.
For thirty-one years and up to the time of his death, Sept.
14, 1885, he was a trusted and valuable employe of the
Waltham Company. He was a thorough mechanic and
understood perfectly the system of machine watch making.
He was born in New York City, Nov. 10, 1830, being at
the time of his death in his fifty-fifth year.
Alonzo Noble, the present foreman of the plate room,
went to work for the company March 17, 1859.
28 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
In the fall of the year 1S59 several of the best workmen
in the Waltham factory were induced to join forces with a
new factory just started in Nashua, N. H., which we will
speak of in due time.
Mr. Ambrose Webster, now of the American Watch
Tool Co., Waltham, who was up to this time a workman
in the machine shop, ^vas promoted to the position of
mechanical superintendent, a position which he filled with
great credit for many years. When he took charge of the
machine shop it was as
crude as could well be
imagined. There was abso-
lutely no system, no appre-
ciation of the fact that the
machine shop was the foun-
dation of the manufactory.
The proprietors did not
seem to realize that to suc-
cessfully lam a factory they
must have some persons
outside of watch repairers.
A, 1 • 1 • "CRESCENT street" MOVEMENT.
nythmg approachnig an
automatic machine was frowned upon. In spite of this fact,
Mr. Webster forced automatic machinery to the front and
consti"ucted a machine to run half automatically against the
positive orders of the management. He also reduced the
unsystematic method of measurement, then emjDloyed in the
factory, to a system, having found that there were nine
classes of measuring units or gauges, which he changed for
one. He designed, and George Hunter, (now superintend-
ent of the Elgin Company's factory), built the first watch
factory lathe with hard spindles and bearings, of the two-
taper variety. He also made the first interchangeable
standard for parts of lathes. The management was soon
PAST AND PRESENT. . 3I
forced to recognize that good mechanics were more essential
as heads of departments than watchmakers, and that the
head machinist was, or should be, the most essential man in
the factory. He invented many machines now in use in the
factory, conspicuous among them being an " Automatic
Pinion Cutter" invented by him in 1S65. In 1872 he was
made assistant superintendent, a position which he filled
until his resignation, in 1876.
In i860 the American Watch Company declared a divi-
dend of five per cent., this being the first dividend declared
by any watch factory in America. The first ladies' watch
ever manufactured in America, was turned out by the com-
pany in 1 86 1, and was known as the " P. S. Bartlett," and
was a lo-size, key wind. In 1862 the American Watch
Company purchased the plant of the Nashua Watch Com-
pany, of Nashua, N. H., organized in 1859, and of which
we will speak in another chapter. An addition was made
to the American Watch Factory, and the machinery and
help were transfered from Nashua to this building. From
this time on, the prosperity of the company was assured.
Dividends were declared yearly, the greatest of which, in
1865, was 210 per cent. In this year, Mr. Robbins paid
personally, an income tax on $337,000, the largest income in
the city of Boston. The capital stock of the company was
increased to $1,500,000 in 1872. In 1878 many additions
and improvements were made in the factory. Wings were
built on and departments enlarged, until in 1882 scarcely a
vestige was left of the old factory. In 1877 the first
chronographs were made; in 1883 the first split seconds.
In 1S71 the firm erected in Bond St., New York, what was
known as the Waltham Building, which contained the gen-
eral offices of the company and their gold case works. This
building was destroyed by fire in 1877, and the building at
present occupied by the firm was built shortly after. This
32 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
company received the highest award at the Centennial
Exposition, 1876; Paris, 187S; Sidney, 1879; Melbourne,
1880, and Inventions Exhibition in London, 1885. In 18S5
the capital stock of the company was increased to $3,000,-
000, and the name changed to the American Waltham
Watch Company, under which title it still continues.
In the fall of 18S5, Mechanical Superintendent Marsh
invented an automatic lathe that is now in successful opera-
tion, turning out 13,000 jewel settings a day.
The various positions in the factory are at present
occupied as follows: E. C. Fitch, superintendent; Mr.
Shirley, assistant superintendent; Leonard Green, foreman
plate room; Wm. H. Wi'enn, foreman machine shop;
Martin Thomas, foreman train room ; Alfred Warren, fore-
man of jeweling room; J. N. Hammond, foreman finishing
and repairing departments; J. L. Keyser, foreman balance
room; H. M. Haines, foreman i8-size finishing room; Joseph
Bates, foreman adjusting room ; Thomas Gill, foreman
three-quarter plate finishing room ; H. N. Fisher, foreman
'scape room; Wm. Murra}-, foreman engraving room; J.
T. Shepherd, foreman flat steel department; Charles Berlin,
foreman nickel finishing; W. R. Wills, foreman jewel
making; E. U. Hull, foreman dial painting; N. P. Mulloy,
foreman hand making; Charles Moore, foreman dial mak-
ing; Alonzo Noble, foreman plate room; Charles H. Mann,
foreman screw making; Charles B. Hicks, foreman gilding
room ; John Logan, main-springs, springing of balances and
hairsprings; D. O'Hara, foreman case rooms; Charles J.
Olney, superintendent of buildings; J. C. Sawin, carpenter.
CHAPTER III.
IN the last chapter we mentioned the fact that the Ameri-
can Watch Company purchased the plant of the Nashua
Watch Company in 1868, and to this company, which was
short lived, we will now call your attention.
Owing to the supposed success which Mr. Dennison had
in the manufacture of watches by machiner}'-, the attention
of jewelers and capitalists throughout the United States was
called to the industry as a good investment. Mr. B. D.
Bingham, of Nashua, N. H., a manufacturer of clocks and
regulators in a small way, went to Waltham and entered
the employ of the company, being desirous of learning the
modus operandi of watch manufactui-ing.
At this time N. P. Stratton was assistant superintendent
of the Waltham company, and being of an ambitious turn of
mind, was desirous of manufacturing a watch of better
quality than that manufactured at Waltham. Messrs. Bing-
ham and Stratton became fast friends and devoted much of
their time while out of the factory in talking over the pros-
pects of a watch factory, should one be organized in Nashua.
Mr. Bingham felt certain that he could interest capitalists in
the scheme, and accordingly with a view of doing so, and
looking over the ground, Messrs. Stratton and Bingham
visited Nashua in 1859. L. W. Noyes and others approved
of the idea, furnished capital, and a company was formed
that fall. The capital stock of the company ^vas $100,000,
wdth L. W . Noyes as treasurer, V. C. Oilman, president,
and T. W. Lovell, secretary. A suitable building was pur-
33
34 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
chased and altered over to meet the necessities of a watch
factory. Mr. Stratton returned to Waltham and succeeded
in employing several of the company's best men, among
whom may be mentioned, C. V.Woerd, Ira G. Blake, Chas.
S. Moseley, who was first or master mechanic, and Jas. H.
Gerry. The loss of these gentlemen was a severe blow to
the Waltham company,
Mr. Stratton was a decidedly intellectual and skillful
workman, having served his time under Henry and James
Pitkin, in their Hartford factory, and was afterward in the
employ of the Boston Watch Company. He entered the
employ of the Waltham company in 1S52, and was sent to
Coventry, Eng., by thiat institution, to learn the secret and
art of etching and gilding movements; In 1857 he was
made assistant superintendent of the Waltham factory, and
in 1S58 invented and patented a main-spring barrel, and later
a hair-spring stud, both of which were adopted by the
Waltham company. Mr. Stratton was not only a thorough
mechanic, but was also an excellent business man ; he opened
the London office of the Waltham Watch Company in
1874.
James H. Gerry was also an able mechanic who thorougly
understood escapement making. He afterward became
superintendent of the United States Watch Company, and
left that institution to become superintendent of the New
York Watch Company. Later on he became superintend-
ent of the Howard Watch and Clock Company, which
position he filled until 1877. He was also inventer and
patentee of a stem-wind attachment, which after modifica-
tion, was adopted by the Howard company. He went into
the clock manufacturing business in Elgin, and in 1885
went to Brooklyn, N. Y., to act as superintendent of the
National Clock Company.
J. B. Gooding invented the capsule method of making
balances still used by the factories.
, PAST AND PRESENT. 35
Chas. S. Moseley's name will always be mentioned in
connection with American watch manufacture as the
designer and inventor of some of the most delicate, compli-
cated and ingenious machinery used in the construction of a
watch. He was originally a machinist and master mechanic
for the Boston Watch Company at Roxbury, and was
early connected with the Waltham company. He went to
Elgin in 1864 to act as superintendent, a position which he
occupied until May, 1872. He also occupied at different
times the position of machine shop and i8-size train I'oom
foreman in the Waltham factory. He invented • a large
portion of the machinery, tools and improvements now used
by the Elgin company, among which may be mentioned
the " compound chuck " and " improved hair-spring stud."
Mr. C. V. Woerd invented the celebrated automatic
pinion cutter in 1864. In 1869 he modeled the Waltham
company's "Crescent Street" movement; in 1874 he
invented the automatic screw machine, which attracted so
much attention at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
and the Inventions Exhibition in London; he became super-
intendent of the Waltham factory in 1876, which position
he filled with credit until his resignation in 1883.
Mr. Chas. S. Moseley, upon his arrival in Nashua, im-
mediately proceeded to design and build the necessary
machinery, and it was this machinery that enabled the com-
pany to construct a watch of superior grade and merit, and
w^hich was subsequently moved at the time of the sale to
Waltham, and with it chiefly the watches bearing the trade
marks of " American Watch Company " and "Appleton,
Tracy & Co." were made. The movements were 16 and
2o-size, key- wind, three-quarter plate, with exposed pallets
and expansion balance.
The company had about thirty employes, Mr. Stratton
acting as superintendent, C. V. Woerd as foreman of train
36 THE "WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
room, J. H. Gerry, as foreman of 'scape room, Chas. S.
Moseley, as master machanic, Jas. Gooding, foreman of
balance making, Jas. Fairchild, foreman gilding room,
Ira G. Blake foreman plate room, Frank Robbins, foreman
jeweling room, J. Mooi"ehouse, foreman dial room, and B. D.
Bingham, master watchmaker. In 1863 the company
running short of money, and the stockholders refusing to
pay assessments, the company came to a stand still; it was
finally decided that the best thing they could do was to sell
the plant if a. customer could be found. Accordingly, Mr.
Stratton went to Boston, and entered into negotiations
with Mr. R. E. Robbins, which resulted in the Waltham
concern purchasing the plant for. $53,000. Mr. C. W.
Fogg Avas sent to Nashua to take charge of the factory until
the fall of 1863, when the plant was moved to Waltham.
The Nashua company up to the time of the sale had manu-
factured about 1,000 movements, none of which had ever
been put upon the market, not being completed; they were
afterward completed and sold as Waltham movements.
CHAPTER TV.
MR. Edward Howard, the veteran watch and clock-
maker of Boston, was born in Hingham, Mass., Oct.
6, 1813. He is a practical man, having served a regular
apprenticeship at the trade of clockmaking. At the age of
twenty-nine he entered into partnership with D. P. Davis
in the manufacture of clocks and regulators. Their business
w^as a flourishing one, and
they soon earned a reputa-
tion for turning out clocks,
second to none in the
country. Mr. Howard
was of a mechanical turn
of mind, and a list of his
inventions would fill a
small volume Among
his various inventions was
that very important piece
of mechanism, the "Swing
Rest." The amount of
labor saved by this machine and the quality of work done
would seem to be enough to make Mr. Howard's name
famous ainorig watchmakers. The greatest tribute that we
can pay to Mr. Howard for his services to the horological
world is to quote the words of a man who was fully capable
of judging of the worth of his inventions from a practical
standpoint, one who had worked under him for years and
knew his sterling worth both as a fellow workman and a
(37)
THE HOWARD WATCH.
38 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
master, one who has gone to his long rest — N. B. Sherwood.
He said:* "The firmness, sagacity, and ahnost intuitive
knowledge of mechanics that he possesses will not be fully
understood for years; and yet to no one man are the United
States so much indebted, in so far as the manufacture of
"watches is concerned. We remember the dark days of its
history, when the infant was unable to walk, when every-
thing was to be created; even those who were to do the
work had to be educated. But it was not so easy a task to
navigate the watch factory through the stormy financial seas.
In the mechanical parts, ho-wever, Mr. Howard ^vas tri-
tunphant; not that he invented even a tithe of the processes
and tools, but he had the sagacity to appreciate the value of
any plan which might be submitted, and he had the firm-
ness to carry out the idea, in the face of all the opposition
of those who should have aided — indeed, of the absolute
treachery of those in his employ. We do not assert that he
was. the entirety of the watchmaking, but we will assert that
he has done more than any other one man to bring the watch
manufacture to its present high standing in this country."
Immediately after the sale of the Waltham factory to Mr,
Royal E. Robbins, in 1857, Mi\ Howard returned to Rox-
bury and continued his clock business in connection with
Mr. Davis; but he still had a longing after the watchmaking
business, and soon opened up the old factory of the " Boston
Watch Company," in Roxbury, with a small force. About
one year after starting, Mr. Howard was able to place his
product upon the market. They were 18-size, thi'ee-
quarter plate, and "were the first quick-train movements ever
made in this country. Even in those early days of Ameri-
can watchmaking, the Howard watches were noted for
their superior qualities as time-keepers; a reputation which
followed them up to the present time. In order to increase
the working capital of the company, a stock company was
♦Watch and Chronometer Jeweling by N. B. Sherwood, written in Oct. 1S69.
EDWARD HOWARD.
PAST AND PRESENT. 4I
organized in iS6i, with a capital of $i30,ooo, and was
known as the " Howard Clock and Watch Company."
The new company struggled against adversity until the
spring of 1S63, when it was decided that the factory should
be sold to the highest bidder and the indebtedness paid off.
A buyer, however, \vas not readily found, and in the fol-
lowing fall a new company was organized under the name
of "The Howard Watch and Clock Company," with a capi-
tal of $120,000. Mr. E. Howard was elected President of
this company. Several improvements were made by the
, new company.
The entire product of the company was controlled by a
syndicate of New York jobbers from 1863 until iSyo,
when the company decided to establish their own agency
in New York.
The first nickel movement was placed on the market in
1S71, and the year following the first ladies' watch made
its appearance. In 1881, the E. Howard Watch and Clock
Company succeeded the old company, the capital being
jDlaced at $350,000. In 1882, Mr. Howard severed his con-
nection with the Avatch company. He has retired from all
active business and still resides in Boston.
The various offices and positions in the factory are occu-
pied as follows: Samuel Little, president; Albert Howard,
general superintendent; Charles J. Hayden, treasvirer; C.
V. Clerque, N. Y. agent; Harry Howard, Chicago agent;
W. B. Learned, superintendent; T. H. Sloan, foreman
finishing dep't.; A. Horton and Henry Allen, adjusting;
J. R. Howard, motion; Wm. Walden and A. L. Mcin-
tosh, escapement; E. F. Emery, stem winding; A. B.
Winston, screw; Alfred Barton, gliding and damaskeening;
Wm. Howarth, engraving; Henry Smidt, jewel making;
Chas. Chase, jeweling; Josiah Moorhouse, dial; Orin R.
Dickey, balance; H, E. Fay, pinion forwarding; L. B.
PAST AND PRESENT. 43
Ranlett, pinion finishing; Wm. Norton, plate; John Hol-
den, flat steel; Wm. Bradford, spring making; C. E.
Ward, springing; W. B. Hammond, inspecting.
This company employs about one hundred hands in the
watch department, and the output Is about 4^0 movements
per month.
CHAPTER V.
IN 1S63, Mr. N. B. Sherwood went to New York to tr}^
and interest capital in the organization of a watch
factory. Messrs. Louis S. Fellows & Schell became inter-
ested in the idea and decided to try the experiment. A
room was rented and Mr. Sherwood started building the
machinery for the new enterprise. He had under him a
corps of efficient -workmen, but after a few months some
misunderstanding arose, and
Mr. Arthur Wadsworth suc-
ceeded him.
Messrs. Fellows & Schell
purchased a building in
Newark, N. J., and altered
it over to serve as a fac-
tory. The machinery and
tools were moved into it
in 1S64, and the name, " The
Newark Watch Company"
THE NEWARK WATCH. ^vas adoptcd. The parties
interested were Augustus, Robert and Edward Schell,
and Lewis S. Fellows. The original model was made
by Mr. Wadsworth, and was iS-size, and closely re-
sembled an English watch then on the market. The
first watches were finished in 1867. These watches were
all key- wind; but later on a stem-wind movement was
made, but was pronounced a failure. The movements
were called, " Robert Fellows," " Edward Bevin," and
(45)
46 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
" Newark Watch Company." The stem-wind was named,
" The Arthur Wadsworth," after the uiventor. The com-
pany manufactured in all about 3,000 watches, but was
gradually running behind. Accordingly, in 1869, negotia-
tions were entered into with the Cornell Watch Company,
then organizing at Chicago.
Mr. Paul Cornell, after whom the new factory was
named, was a wealthy real-estate dealer of Chicago, own-
ing large tracts of land in the vicinity of Grand Crossing,
a fe\v miles south of Chicago. He conceived the idea that
a watch factory would be a good speculation, and if located
on his property would " boom " its sale. In company with
J. C. Adams he set about organizing a company, and in
1870 one was formed with a capital of $200,000. Previous
to the organization of the company, Mr. Adams negotiated
with the Newark Company, and the result was that the
Cornell Company purchased the plant for $135,000, giving
stock to that amount as payment.
Mr. Cornell set aside thirty acres of land as a site for the
factory, erected a building at a cost of $75,000, taking stock
in the company to that amount. The officers of the com-
pany were as follows: President, Paul Cornell; Vice
President, C. M. Cady; Secretary, J. B. Jackson; Treas-
urer, Robert Schell; General Manager, T. C. Williams;
General Agent, J. C. Adams.
In August, 1871, (just prior to the Chicago fire), the new
building was completed and the machinery, etc., in the
Newark factory brought on. The departments were as
follows: Machine shop, plate room, train room, screw
room, regulator and stud room, polishing room, wheel and
pinion finishing room, stem-wind room, pinion and wheel
room, 'scape wheel cutting room, jewel and pallet room,
setting-up room, adjusting room, and dial room, fourteen in
all. Owing to the frequent changes made in the heads of
48
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
the various departments it is almost impossible to give a
list of the department sujDerintendents w^ith any degree of
accuracy. The following gentlemen, however, may be
named as having held various positions of trust during the
career of this factory at Grand Crossing: Albert Troller,
now superintendent of the Rockford Company; J. W.
Hurd, late superintendent of the Aurora Companv; John
Penny, now with the Elgin Company; John Logan, now
foreman of springing in Waltham factory ; John Lucus,
Chas. Boland, Frank Styles, E. Sandoz, C. L. Kidder, G.
W. Hines, Thos. H.
Wheeler, Geo. D. Clark,
G. A. Kendrick, W. E.
Piper, J. O. Newton,
Isaac Holmes, Chas. Peg-
ler, Alph, Jackson and C.
R. Bacon. The latter
gentleman acting as super-
intendent.
The old movement
made by the Newark
Company was improved
on, and new machinery
and a great many new
tools made. The company manufactured ten grades of
movements, as follows: "Paul Cornell," "J. C. Adams,"
^' Geo. F. Root," "John Evans," " H. N. Hibbard," " E. S.
Williams," " C. T. Bowen," " C. M. Cady," " Geo. W.
Waite," and " Ladies' Stem Wind." They were all iS-size,
with the exception of the ladies' movement, and the greater
majority were full plate and double sunk dial. Expansion
balances were used. The " Paul Cornell " and " C. M.
Cady " were stem-winders and the balance key-winders.
The ladies' movement proved a failure, in spite of the fact
that a trade paper in existence at the time said:
MOVEMENT.
PAST AND PRESENT. 49
" One great feature of the Cornell Watch Company is, that
they are the first in this county who have manufactured and intro-
duced a 'Ladies' Stem Winding Watch,' which is, perhaps, in finish
and originality of design, one of the greatest improvements of the
age."
Mr. Cornell came to the conckision that the Cornell Coni-
jDany was going to be a great success, and accordingly he
began to purchase the stock as fast as possible, vmtil, in
abotit 1872, he found himself almost sole " monarch of all
I survey." Two years after, however, he found the concern
\vas not the sticcessful one he had anticipated, and \vas
ready to unload his stock. After corresponding with sev-
eral parties he at length entered into negotiations with W.
C. Ralston, a wealthy banker of San Francisco. In the
fall of 1 8 74 the entire jDl'^nt was conveyed to the latter
place, and such einployes as could be induced to, were also
taken to California.
Mr. Cornell's object in moving the factory was to take
advantage of Chinese labor, which was then very cheap
and plentiful in San Francisco. The new concern was
called the Cornell Watch Company' of San Francisco, with
a capital of $250,000. The new company paid $100,000.
for the Grand Crossing plant, which was theii estimated as
being worth $175,000. The officers were: President, W.
C. Ralston; Vice-President, Oliver Eldridge; Secretary
and Treasurer, James Cox.
An old building on Fourth street \vas remodeled as a fac-
tor)\ An effort was made to introduce Chinese labor, but
the employes struck and raised so many obstacles in the
way that the attempt %vas abandoned. In 1875 it was dis-
covered that the company was in a critical position, and in
the fall of that year Mr. Ralston, the President, committed
suicide. January i, 1876, the factory was closed. The
California Watch Company succeeded the old company
50 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
with a capital stock of $250,000. Berkely, a suburb of
Oakland, was decided on as a site for the factory. A build-
ing was erected at the cost of $20,000. The old machinery-
was placed in the new factory, but operations were not
resumed, as the company were luidecided whether to start
up with the old machinery or build ne^v. They finally
decided to wind up the business, as they saw no pi'ofit in
starting up with the old tools, and were not in a condition
to get new ones. They kept the machine shop running,,
however, until the summer of 1S76, when the entire works
were closed up.
Mr. Albert Troller, the present Superintendent of the
Rockford factory, made arrangements with Messrs. Glic-
kauf & Newhouse, then of San Francisco, to take the bal-
ance of the movements in the factory. In January, 1877,
Mr. Troller bought all the unfinished material, leased the
building, and proceeded to finish up all the movements.
The movements were all finished early in the summer of
1S77. The building and machinery were taken possession
of by the Berkely Land Association, the machinery being
eventually sold to the Independent Watch Company, of
Fredonia, New York.
CHAPTER VI.
THE United States Watch Company was organized in
July, 1S64, ^vIth a capital stock of $5oo,cX)o. The
firm of Giles, Wales & Co., then wholesale dealers in
watches and jewelry in New York City, were the organ-
izers, and owned the controlling stock in the compan}'.
The officers of the company were F. A. Giles, President;
William A. Wales, Secretary, Treasurer and General Busi-
ness Manager. Directors: William A. Wales, G. C. F.
W^ right, F. A. Giles, S. M. Beard and A. H. Wallis.
Mr. James H. Gerry and several machinists from the
Waltham factory were hired to build the machinery for the
new factory. The company piuxhased a tract of land at
^Marion, N. J., and erected a building wliich was finished in
1865 at a cost of $135,000. It was constructed wholly of glass
and iron in the proportion of five feet of glass to one foot
of iron, and had a frontage of two hundred and fifty-three feet.
The engine was an 80 horse power, and was built by the
Putnam Machine Co., Fitchburg, Mass. An independent
real-estate company was also formed, which was called the
]SIarion Building Company. This company expended
large amounts of mone\- in laying out grounds and erect-
ing buildings, hoping to reap a rich harvest when the fac-
tory got thoroughly imder way. Thev were doomed to
disappointment, however, as the site selected was not a
very desirable one, and the land was easier to buy than to
selL
(51)
53 WATCir FACTORIES OF AMERICA
James H. Gerry was made superintendent; John Gardi-
ner, foreman pinion finishing; Walter Farnsworth and
Chas. Berlin, nickel finishing; William Sheppard, flat steel;
Geo. Hart, plate room; E. S. Gerry, escapement room;
Fred. Lowell, motion room; D. B. Gerry, stem-wind room;
H.J. Cain, balance room; E. A. Hull, dial room, and Wil-
liam Smith, jewel room. Two hundred hands ^vere
employed.
THE UNITED STATES "WATCH COMPANY'S WATCH FACTORY, AT :MARION, N. J.
The escapement was iS-size, straight-line, full j^late,
expansion balance, exposed pallet jewels, having a hole in
the top plate so that the escapement might be examined
without taking the plates apart. The finer grades had
three pairs of conical pivots, cap jeweled, in gold settings
and were adjusted to heat, cold and position. The first
movements put on the market wei'e called the " Frederick
Atherton," and were completed in 1S67, the output then
being but 30 movements per day.
PAST AXD PRESENT.
53
In iS6S the capital stock of the company was increased
to $1,000,000, JNIessrs. Giles, Wales & Co. taking $300,000
more stock, making $475,000 worth of stock owned and
controlled by this firm alone. In 186S James H., D. B.
and E. S. Gerry left the emploj^ of the United States Watch
Company to enter that of the New York Watch Company,
of Springfield, Mass. James H. Gerry was succeeded as
superintendent by Wm. H.
Learned, under whose super-
vision the " Fayette Strat-
ton," "Geo. Channing" and
"Edwin Rollo" were turned
out. These movements were
all iS-size, the "Stratton"
being full nickel, the " Chan-
ning " nickel top plate, and
the "Rollo" was made in
brass.
In the summer of 1S69,
William H. Learned was suc-
ceeded by H. J. Lowe. Under Mr. Lowe's supervision the
" United States," " S. M. Beard," " A. H. Wallace," "John
Lewis," " Alexander," " Henry Randel," " G. A. Reed,"
"J. W. Deacon," "Chas. G. Knapp," and "Asa Fuller"
were brought out. Nearly every movement made by this
company was named after employes or stockholders. The
" Stratton " was named after Mr. F. S. Giles, the " Ran-
del " after Henry Randel, a stockholder and member of the
diamond firm of Randel, Baremore & Billings, the "Rollo "
after Edward R. Pratt, an employe of Giles, Wales &
Co.; the "Wallace" after Mr, A. H. Wallace, a stock-
holder; the "Channing," after G. C. F. Wright, of Giles,
Wales & Co.; the "Beard" after Mr. S. M. Beard, a
stockholder; the " Alexander " after Mr. James A. Alex-
THE UNITED STATES WATCH.
54
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
ander, of the ^^tna Insurance Co., a stockholder; the
" Reed " after Mr. G. A. Reed, of Deep River, Conn., a
stockholder. The " United States " was the finest move-
ment made by this company, if not the finest then made in
this country. It was i6-size, :^ -plate, compensation bal-
ance, and Breguet hair spring, gold train, 19 ruby jewels,
and was adjusted for position, heat and cold, and isochron-
ism. It was an elegant movement, and the company
always pointed to it with pride. Messrs. Giles, Bro. &
Co., then situated at 83 and 85 State St., Chicago, were
western agents, and Messrs. Giles, Wales & Co., 13 Maiden
Lane, general agents of the company.
Like all new concerns of the kind, the United States
Watch Company sunk considerable money in its buildings,
tools, patents and stock, to say nothing of the large sums
absorbed in experimental processes. They gradually be-
gan to run short of money, and finally were compelled to
make an assignment in 1872 to Wm. Muirhead, of Jersey
City. The firm of Giles, Wales & Co., had great faith in
the concern, and had invested over $700,000 in its stock.
After the assignment the factory was run under the name
of the " Marion Watch Company," for about two years,
when the mortgages were foreclosed, and the plant dis.
posed of to the various companies then formed and form-
ing. Some of the machinery was purchased by the Fre-
donia Watch Company and the Auburndale Watch Com-
pany, other portions by the Fitchburg Watch Company.
CHAPTER VII.
IN the spring of 1S64, Messrs. Ira G. Blake and P. S.
Bartlett, both of whom were at that time connected
with the Waltham Watch Company, paid a visit to Chi-
cago. They became acquainted with J. C. Adams, then a
watchmaker, and talked over the prospects for starting a
watch factory in Chicago. Mr. Adams coincided with
their views on the subject and interested several capitalists
in the scheme. Messrs. Blake and Bartlett gave a glowing
description of the Waltham Watch Company's business;
they -waxed eloquent, and at length convinced the capi-
talists that if Waltham could manufacture watches by ma-
chinery and supply the Western states, surely Chicago
could make watches by machinery and supply the demand
in the Eastern states.
On August 27, 1864, a company was incorporated under
the name of " The National Watch Company of Chicago,
Illinois," with a capital of $100,000. The incorporators
were Philo Carpenter, Howard Z. Culver, Benjamin W-
Raymond, Geo. M. Wheeler, Thomas S. Dickerson,
Edward H. Williams and W. Robbins.
Messrs. Adams and Wheeler made a visit to the East
and the following gentlemen contracted with the company
for five years: Messrs. Otis Hoyt, P. S. Bartlett, Charles
S. Moseley, Geo. Hunter, D. R, Hartwell, Chas. E.
Mason, D. G. Currier and J. K. Bigelow. It was decided
that the factory should be located at Elgin, and a tract of
(55)
56 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
thirty-five acres of land was donated to the company for a
factor}' site by the business men of that place. A three-
story frame building, 35x60 feet was erected on the water
power and work begun on the watch tools and machineis.
D. G. Currier, a Waltham expert, was hired, and together
^vith Messrs, Moseley and Hunter, the work was started.
Api-il 25, 1865, the company was reorganized under a special
charter with a capital of $500,000. The first ofliicers of
the company were: Benjamin W. Raymond, Chicago,
President; Philo Carpenter, Chicago, Vice-President;
Thomas S. Dickerson, Chicago, Treasurer, and Geo. M.
Wheeler, Chicago, Secretary. The first board of directors
consisted of Messrs. B. W. Raymond, Philo Carpenter, H.
Z. Culver, T. S. Dickerson, J. T. Ryerson, G.M. Wheeler
and B. F. Lawrence. In the spring of this year work was
commenced on the permanent factory, which consisted of
a three-story and basement, brick and stone building, 40X
40 feet, with two wings 371^x100 and 275^x86 feet, re-
spectively.
Jan. I, 1866, the machinery department was transferred
to the new building. June ist of the same year the ^^'ork
of manufactvu'ing M^atch materials was begun, but it was
not until April i, 1867, that the first movement was de-
livered from the factory. This movement was named B.
W. Raymond, in honor of the president of the compan}'.
This movement was not, however, like the original model,
but was an i8-size, ke}^ wind, full-plate, w^ith quick train
and straight line escapement arranged to set on the face-
and was adjusted to temperature. It was a four hole,
extra je"weled movement, and was a success from the very
start.
During the summer of 1866 the factory began to assume
a somewhat busy aspect. One department after another
was organized in rapid succession. The first foremen of
PAST AND PRESENT. 57
the respective departments, were as follows: General
superintendent, Charles S. Moseley; machine shop, Geoi'ge
Hunter; plate and screw, P. S. Bartlett; jeweling, Chas.
H. Bagley ; train, J. K. Bigelow, with Otis Hoyt as assist-
ant; balance, Eben Hancock; escapement, C< E. Mason;
finishing, D. G. Currier; dial, John Webb; adjusting, J.
F. Gilson; gilding, James Fairchild; flat steel, William M.
Goodridge.
The officers of the company ^vere subsequently changed
and in 1867 they were: B. W. Raymond, President; B.
F. Lawrence, Vice-President; G. M. Wheeler, Secretar3%
Directors, B. W. Raymond, H. Z. Culver, B. F. Lawrence,
H. H. Taylor, G. M. Wheeler, J. T. Ryerson and T. M.
Avery.
On July 16, 1S67, a new watch ^vas turned out which
was named the H. Z. Culver. The slow train was then
adopted on all the new movements brought ovit and they
appeared on the market as follows: J. T. Ryerson, Oct.
14, 1867; H. H. Taylor, Nov. 20, 1867; G. M. Wheeler,
Nov. 26, 1867; Matthew Laflin, Jan. 4, 1868.
Otis Hoyt left his home in Amesbury to go to work for
the Waltham company in 1858. He severed his connec-
tion with the company at the time of the war, and served
as captain until he was honorably discharged in July, 1864.
In the fall of that year he joined forces with Geo. Hunter
and several others and went to Elgin, contracting with that
company for a term or five years. His health failed him,
however, and in 1867 he was compelled to go to Califor-
nia for a change of climate, and from there he returned to
Waltham. He soon went to Springfield, 111., to act as.
superintendent, and remained in that position until 1871,
when he went to Elgin to take charge of the train room,
a position which he filled creditabl}^ for fourteen years.
He died at his residence in Elgin, June 2, 1S85, inhis forty-
eighth year.
^8
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Mr. Benjamin W. Raymond, who was made president
of the company after its organization, served until Oct. lo,
1867, when he was succeeded by T. M. Avery, who has
since held the office. Mr. G. M. Wheeler, the secretary,
was succeeded by Mr. Hiram Reynolds in January, 1868,
January 28, 1869, the authorized capital of the company
was increased to $2,000,000.
May 20, 1869, the " Lady Elgin" made its appearance
on the market. It was the first of the series of lo-size
key wind, ladies' movements, and proved very popular.
It was followed by the Francis Ruble, which was adjusted
to temperature, appearing
August 24, 1870; the Gail
Borden, September 8, 1871,
and the Dexter Street, De-
cember 20, 187 1 .
Mr. Benj. F. Lawrence,
the vice-president of the
company, died December
16, 1 87 1, and Mr. Geo. N.
Culver was elected to fill
the vacant chair.
'-'^1 June 20, 10735 tne the " b. w. Raymond " movement.
first stem- wind movement was placed on the market. It
was a Raymond movement made over, and was shortl}' fol-
lowed by the Culver, Taylor, Wheeler, Laflin and Ogden.
At a special meeting of the stockholders of the company
held in Chicago, May 12, 1874, it was decided to change
the name of the company to " The Elgin National Watch
Company." This was thought to be advisable because the
movements manufactured by the company were vniiversally
known as and called "Elgin Watches." In March, 1875,
the company began to make its own mainsprings, which
had prior to that time been purchased ready made. June
PAST AND PRESENT. 6l
i6, 1S75, ^^^^ ^^^^ watches called by the name of the com-
pany, were placed on the market, and were designated by
numbers.
Seven ne-w grades of 10 size, six grades of 12 size and
five grades of 14 size, three-quarter plate, key wind move-
ments, were made by the company between Sept. 29, 1S75,
and Dec. 29, 1876. Most of these new patterns were made
for the foreign markets, ^vhich demanded movements dif-
fering in some respects from those made for home con-
sumption. So large was the demand for Elgin movements
during the year 1876, that the factor}-, although running
over time, and turning out movements as fast as the capac-
ity would admit of, yet the orders were far behind, and
dealers were beginning to complain. The London office
of the company was closed, the forces increased, and
everything possible was done to meet the enormous
demand.
In January, 1877, Mr. Hiram Reynolds, the Secretary,
was succeeded by Mr. George R. Noyes.
The company placed its first nickel movement ujDon the
market, August 15, 1877.
A new line of 8 size, stem wind movements were placed
upon the market, June 11, 1S78. In the fall of 1878 four
grades of 16 size, three-quarter plate, stem-wind move-
ments were brought out. These movements were inter-
changeable, in hunting and open face cases, and were at
that time considered quite a novelty.
Mr. George R. Noyes died in Jul}-, 1879, leaving vacant
the office of secretary, and Mr. Whitehead was elected and
served until June, 1884, when he was succeeded by Mr.
William G. Prall.
Henry H. Taylor died November 9, 1875; William H.
Ferry, died March 26, 18S0; J. T. Ryerson died March 9,
1883; Benjamin W. Raymond died April 5, 1883.
63 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Mr. George N. Culver filled the position of Vice-Presi-
dent until June, 1884, when Mr. James W. Scoville was
elected to that position.
Upon the death of Otis Hoyt, foreman of the train
room, in June, 1S85, his assistant, Mr. George E. Farring-
ton, ^vas promoted to the position of foreman.
For a number of years the mainsprings were made by
Prenot of Philadelphia, but later on the company made
their own springs. The " Burt patent " to prevent acci-
dent in case of mainspring breakage was the invention of
Mr. Merritt Burt of Cleveland, Ohio, and modified by
Mr. Chas. S. Moseley.
The factory is producing at present about 7,500 move-
ments per week, about one-fifth of which are key wind and
one-tenth nickel. About 2,300 persons are employed.
The various positions are at present occupied as follows :
President, T. M. Avery; Vice-President, J. W. Scoville;
Secretary, William G. Prall; Directors, T. M. Avery, J.
W. Scoville, George H. Laflin, Chas. Fargo, Martin Ryer-
son, G. N. Culver and M. C. Town; General Agents, J.
M. Cutter, Chicago; C. J. Scofield, New York; Super-
intendent, Geo. Hunter; Asst. Supt , William H. Cloud-
man; Cashier, Carlos H. Smith; Book-keeper, W. P. Hem-
mens; Shipping Clerk, J. McLaughlin; Material Clerk,
H.L. Given; foreman finishing department A, William
H. Black: finishing B, J. H. Moulton; motion, F. H.
Corthell; escapement, George E. Hunter; stem-wind,
William C. Torrey; screv^, Frank Preston; gilding, Wil-
liam Hewins; engraving, A. F. Kelsey; jeweling, L. N.
Jackson; dial, F. B. Perkins; balance, E. F. Gooding;
train, G. E. Farrington; plate, Hiram Thomas; flat
steel, A. F. Alden; mainspring, Charles Lehman; hand
and press, C. L. Young; machine, W. F. Dean; timing,
Ira Pixley; master watchmaker, C. P. Corliss ; median-
PAST AND PRESENT. 63
ical engineer, Frank Leman; superintendent gas, water
and steam, A. L. Harrington; head carpenter, D. R.
Hartwell.
The floor area of the present building is 169,000 square
feet, not inchiding the detached buildings, such as the gas
house, 52 X 180 feet, the purifying house, 30x64 feet, the
generating house, 60x118 feet, carpenter shop, 30x135
feet, and engine house. From the above it will be seen
that the company makes all its own gas, which is of a
superior quality. The water is furnished by an artesian
well, and all known precautions against fire have been taken.
The factory has its own steam fire engine, a trained fire
brigade, one hundred dozen fire grenades, and a Holly sys-
tem of water works, with a capacity of eight one inch
streams. Two eighty horse power engines provide the
power for this mammoth institution.
J. C. ADAMS.
CHAPTER VIII.
AS a watch factory organizer Mr. J. C. Adams has prob-
ably had more experience than any hving man, and his
name is familiar to every watchmaker and jeweler in this
country. Mr. Adams was born in Preble, N. Y., October
7, 1834. His father was a prosperous farmer. When he
was but two years of age his father sold his farm and
removed to Syracuse, N. Y. In 1S42 he gathered together
his chatties and removed to \vhat v\^as then termed the far
west, locating in Elgin, 111. Mr. Adams served a five
years' apprenticeship to John H. Atkins, an old Liverpool
%vatchmaker. After finishing his apprenticeship he was
engaged as watchmaker by S. C. Spalding, of Janesville,
Wis. After two years employment by Mr. Spalding, he
again returned to Elgin and entered into partnership with
G. B.Adams, the firm being known as G. B. & J. C.Adams.
At the end of two years the partnership was dissolved and
Mr. Adams went to Chicago and was employed in the
watch department of Messrs. Hoard & Hoes. In 1861 he
managed the watch department of W. H. & C. Miller,
Chicago, and had an interest in that department. In 1863
he was appointed time keeper for the various railroads
centering in Chicago.
In the spring of 1S64, Mr. Adams severed his connec-
tion with W. H. & C. Miller and together with Messrs.
Chas. S. Moseley and P. S. Bartlett, organized the Elgin
Watch Company. In 1869, together with Mr. Paul
Cornell, he organized the Cornell Watch Company of
(67)
68 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Grand Crossing, 111., and served for some time as general
agent of that company. One of the movements made by
this company was named in his honor.
In 1869, Mr. Adams, together with Springfield capital-
ists, organized the Illinois Watch Company at Spring-
field.
In 1874 he organized the Adams & Peny Watch Manu-
facturing Company, and became Secretary and General
Manager of the company. He resigned his position in the
fall of 1875.
In 1883 he entered the employ of the Independent
Watch Compan}^ of Fredonia, N. Y. In 1885 he organ-
ized the Peoria Watch Company and continued with that
company until April 14, 18S8. He is the inventor and
patentee of " The Adams System of Time Records " which
is employed on nearly every w^estern railroad.
CHAPTER IX.
AARON L. Dennison, as previously described, was
not discouraged by his somewhat checkered exper-
ience as an organizer and stockholder of watch companies,
but made a final effort to right himself. In 1S64 he visited
A. O. Bigelow, of Boston, and explained his ideas to him in
regard to the establishment of a factory on a somewhat
novel basis. At that time there was a good demand for a
medium-priced movement, and the field was far from being
occupied. After some deliberation the Tremont Watch
Company, was organized in April, 1864, with a capital
stock of $100,000. Mr. Dennison's idea was to have cer-
tain parts of the movements made in Switzerland, whei'e
labor was cheap, shipped to the United States, and with the
other parts, wrhich were to be made in America, set up and
adjusted. By doing this, he argued, the company could put
their product on the market in a much shorter space of
time, and could save the expense of building complicated
and expensive machinery, and a large building.
Mr. Dennison was elected superintendent of the company,
and was to go to Switzerland to see to the manufacture of
the parts that were thought best to have manufactured
there. The plates, barrels and some minor parts wei'e to be
made in Boston, and after getting together the necessary
machinery, the work was started. D. B. Bingham was
made superintendent of the Boston shop, with Charles P.
Crafts as foreman. D. F. Leary had charge of the jewel-
ing ; John Polsey, plate room ; Andrew Brush, gilding ;
(69)
-ii^ 70 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
O. Jenkins, master watchmaker, and C. Byam was foreman
of the flat steel work.
Mr. Dennison went to Zurich, where he hired a shop,
and commenced work on the trains, balances and escape-
ments. Most of the work was done outside the shop, and
Mr. Denison contracted with various parties to f virnish certain
^Dortions of the work. Several competent men were
employed to work in the shop where the balances were
tried, the escapements matched, and the pivoting done.
The first movements, which -were i8-size, full jeweled, were
placed on the market in the summer of 1S65.
In 1866 the company decided to move the factory to Mel-
rose, Mass., and manufacture the entire movement in this
country. Mr. Dennison was strongly opposed to this change
as the company were doing a very good business, and the
outlook yvas very encouraging. He prophesied that if the
change was made the company would surely come to grief.
The officers of the company, however, had decided on the
change, and accordingly a frame building 50X 100 feet was
purchased, and the old tools and machinery moved in, and
arrangements made for the manvifacture of new ones. Mr.
Dennison then withdrew from the company as a stock-
holder, but continued to furnish the company with material
until the new tools were well under way. The old move-
ment was remodeled and engraved " Melrose Watch Com-
pany." About this time the company began to run short
of funds, and called upon the stockholders for the addi-
tional fifty per cent, of the capital stock. The stockholders,
however, failed to come to time, and in 186S Mr. Dennison's
prophesy came true. Mr. Dennison was asked to sell the
plant in Switzerland, but could find no purchasers. In 1870
Mr. Dennison retvu-ned to Boston, and tried to organize a
new company, and buy the old plant. Failing in this, he
went to England, vs^here he effected a sale of the machinery
to what is now known as the "English Watch Company."
CHAPTER X.
THE Mozart Watch Company was organized in the
spring of 1864, the incorporators being mostly whole-
sale and manufacturing jewelers of New York City and
Providence. The office and factory of the compan}^ was
located in Providence, R.I. The capital stock was $100,000.
The watch which the company proposed to manufacture
was i8-size; and was known as the "three-wheeled Mozart,"
the invention of D. J. Mozart, of Xenia, Ohio. Geo. S. Rice
was President ; J. A. Briggs, Secretary, and Mr. Mozart
was made Superintendent. Work was immediately com-
menced on the machinery and tools, and in the fall of 1S64
work was commenced upon the movement, and then the
trouble began to brew. The stockholders finally decided
that the Mozart watch would never be a success, and that
the sooner they abandoned it the better off they would be.
This was in the spring of 1866, and in the summer of the
same year L. W. Cushing, of Waltham, was placed in Mr.
Mozart's position, with instructions to build the necessary
machinery for the manufacture of a regular i8-size three-
quarter plate lever movement. The name of the company
was then changed to " The New York Watch Company." In
1867 the company purchased two buildings, and a piece of
ground in Springfield, Mass., and moved the machinery
there. The buildings consisted of a large boarding house,
and a large building which had previously been occupied as
a machine shop. After moving to Springfield the company
was reorganized and the capital increased to $300,000. The
(70
7^
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
former president and secretary retained their offices, and
George Walker was elected as Treasurer, and O. P. Rice
became business manager. In i86S James H. Gerry, who
was in the employ of the United States Watch Company,
was secured and placed in the position of superintendent.
The factory was destroyed by fire April 25, 1870, but many
of the machines and part of the material was saved. The
company then cleared away the debris, and moved the
boarding house into the position previously occupied by the
THE NEW YORK WATCH COMPANY'S FACTORY', AT SPRINGFIELD, MASS., DESTROYED BY' FIRE APRIL, ZJ, 1S7O.
factory. It was remodeled, and in about three months the
factory was in operation again. The first movements
placed on the market were i8-size, three-quarter
plate, lever movements, with straight line escapement.
These movements were known as " Springfield," "John L.
King," "Homer Foot," "No. 5," "J. A. Briggs," "H. G.
Norton," and "Albert Clark." In 187 1 the company
placed an i8-size full plate movement on the market.
The factory did well until the year of the great panic,
1873, when they began to fall behind. They finally pulled
through 1873 and 1874 by reducing the number of employ-
PAST AND PRESENT.
73
ees, but in 1875 they decided to close the factory. The
stockholders reorganized under the name of the New York
Watch Manufacturing Company. - This did not last long,
however, for in about eight months the factory was again
closed. In 1877 the stock and bond holders reorganized
under a new title with fresh capital, having purchased the
machinery of the old company. Of the new company,
which was known as the Hampden Watch Company, we
will speak in another chapter.
Mr. James H. Gerr}-, who was made superintendent in
1 868, retired early in 1870,
and was succeeded by
Mr. Osm ore Jenkins, who
was in turn succeeded hy
Mr. H. J. Cain. D. B.
Gerrj^, E. S. Gerry, Geo.
Hunt, Geo. Griffin, Chas.
P. Crafts, Charles Ayer,
Leo Murray and George
Pollard held various posi-
tions in the factory in its
younger days. The vari-
ous movements were the
"Frederick Billings," a full jeweled, iS-size, adjusted
movement; the "George Walker," an i8-size, three-
quarter plate ; the " New York Watch Company," a 16-size
three-cjuarter plate; the "John Hancock," a cheap iS-size,
seven jewel, key wind; the " Geo. Sance Rice," an i8-size,
seven jewel, imitation expansion balance, and the "Chas.
E. Hay ward," an 18-size, eleven jewel, imitation expansion
balance.
THE NEW YORK WATCH.
CHAPTER XI.
SOON after his discharge by the Providence com-
pany, in iS66, as described in a previous chapter,
D. J. Mozart moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where
he proceeded to organize a company known as the "Mozart
Watch Company." The capital stock was two hundred
thousand dollars, and the incorporators w^ere W. A. Benedict,
Don J. Mozart, C. T. Wilmot, W. W. Wheedon, A. J.
Southerland and Charles
Tripp. The officers of
the company were, Prest.
Chas. Tripp; Treasurer,
W. W. Wheedon, and
Secretary, A. J. South-
erland, Mr. Mozart was
made Superintendent. A
factory was rented, and
machinists hired to build
the necessary machinery^
The movement w^as the
THE "three- wheeled" MOZART. sauic as that wliich he
tried to have the Mozart Company, of Providence, intro-
duce, and was seventeen size. Obstacles of various kinds
began to present themselves, and the progress of the work
did not please the stockholders. Nearly three years had
elapsed since the organization of the company and there
was no fruits to show for the labor and money expended.
The money began to run short, and in the winter of 1870
(75)
76
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
the stockholders decided to sell out if a buyer could be
found. Some thirty odd movements were finished at this
time, all of them given to stockholders and friends, and
none being placed on the market.
A company was organized in Rock Island, Illinois, and
after an inspection of the machinery, decided to purchase it.
The price paid for the plant was $40,000 : $35,000 in stock
of the new company, and a note for the balance. No avail-
able site could be found for the factory at Rock Island, and
accordingly the town of Milan, some seven miles below the
city, was selected as a fitting place for the factory. The
officers of the company
Avere, J. A. Wilson, Pres-
ident; CM. Aiken, Sec-
retary and Business Man-
ager. Frank Leman, no
designer for the Elg
Company, was engage I
as Superintendent. G.J
McElwain, of Chicago,
made the model watch for
the Company, which was
somewhat like the Mo-
FREEPORT MOVEMENT.
zart movement. After
the machinery was moved to Milan, and placed on the floor
of the new building, the stockholders came to the conclu-
sion that it was not just what they wanted, and refused
to pay the notes for $15,000. The Mozart Company-
sent a representative to Milan to arbitrate their claim, which
resulted in the return of the machinery to the Mozart
Company and the payment of $5,000.
In 1874 a stock company was formed at Freeport, Illinois,
with a capital of $250,000. The incorporators and officers
of this company were residents of Ann Arbor, Michigan,
PAST AND PRESENT.
77
and Freeport, Illinois. Part of the old Mozart plant was
purchased for $51,000; $1,000 cash and $50,000 in stock in
the new company. A brick building was erected in Free-
port, 40x100 feet and the machinery moved into it. This
company never manufactured many movements, however,
as the factor}- was burned down on the night of October 21,
1875, and the building and contents were a total loss. The
company were insured for $30,000.
CHAPTER XII.
THE Illinois Springfield Watch Company was organ-
ized in January, 1869, with a capital stock of $100,-
000, with T. J. Stuart as President, W. B. Miller, Secretary,
and a Board of Directors, consisting of John W. Bunn,
Geo. Passfield, John Williams, Geo. Black and the Secre-
tary and President. The company was organized mainly
through the efforts of J. C. Adains. Mr. Adams em-
ployed a number of experienced men in Elgin to build the
machinery for the new company, and work was commenced
on the building. This was in the spring of 1870, and the
building was ready for occupancy in the fall of the same
year. The first watch was turned out early in 1S72, In
1873 a New York office was opened, with J. M. Morrow as
agent, and in 1879 a Chicago office was opened, with L. W.
Arnold as manager, a position which he occupied until
eaidy in 1887. The hard times of 1873 and 1874 placed
the company in an embarassing position. They had a large
surplus of finished movements on hand and little or no
demand existed. They pulled through however, after a
desperate effort, but were short of ready funds. In 1875 a
new^ company was organized, that assumed all the liabilities
of the old one. The capital stock of this company \vas
placed at $250,000 and E.N. Bates elected President. The
new company however, met with no better success than the
old one, and although the working force was enlarged and
the product considerably increased, yet the company steadily
lost money. In 1879 the company was again reorganized
(79)
So
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
and Jacob Bunn, one of the original stockholders, elected
President. The name of the company was changed to
the Springfield Illinois Watch Company. The early pro-
duct of the factory was known as the "Hoyt," "Stuart,"
"Mason," "Bunn" and "Miller." The first stem-wind
movement was made in 1875 ^^^ ^^^^ ^^'^^ ladies' movement
in 1S76. In the early part of 18S6 the company put upon,
the market their foui'-size ladies' watch, which at that time
was the smallest watch made in the United States.
The following gentlemen have served in the capacity of
foremen of different de-
partments at various times;
Otis Hoyt, C. E. Mason,
D. G. Currier, W. F.
Dean, J. K. Biglow, John
Wilkenson, John Leman,
Eben Hancock, John Peg-
ler, and Ferd. F. Ide. The
first superintendent was J.
K. Biglow, who served in
that capacit}^ from April,
1870 until July, 1873, when
he was suceeded by D. G. Currier, who served imtil 1875,
w^hen he was in turn succeeded by Otis Hovt. Mr. Hoyt
was suceeded in March, 1S78 by C. E. Mason. The
plant of the Company is located upon fourteen acres of
ground just outside the city limits of Springfield, on
North Grand Avenue between Ninth and Eleventh Streets.
The buildings are of brick, with stone trimmings, and
the visitor is at once impressed with their compact and
at the same time convenient arrangement. The main
factory building has a frontage of 350 feet, and consists
of a central building, 40x50 feet, and four stories in height
and two wings, each 30x100 feet, three stories in height.
THE ILLINOIS MOVEMENT.
S2 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
There are two wings, three stories high, which branch
from the large main wings, besides a gas house, annex and
several small buildings.
At present the company employ 900 hands and turn out
about 400 finished movements daily. The present officers of
the company are Jacob Bunn, President; John W. Bunn,
Vice President; Geo, A. Bates, Acting Secretary; A. E.
Bently, Manager. The present Board of Directors consists
of Jacob Bunn, J. W. Bunn, B. H. Ferguson, Geo. A.
Bates, Thos. C. Henkle, and Henry Bunn.
Mr. F. W. Cory is the manager of the New York ofiice
and G. G. Gubblns, manager of Chicago otfice.
The seventeen departments of the factory are presided
over as follows: Machine, Engine E. Bradford; plate, C.
A. Bradeen; gilding, Wm. Palmer; hand punch, D. Nash
Mitchell; mainspring, John Lehmann; flat steel and screv^,
J. D. Lowe; pinion roughing, D. W. Chalmers; pinion
cutting, J. H. Burns; pinion finishing, C. G. Village; bal-
ance, A. H. Smith; jeweling, A. H. Ranzenberger; motion,
S. J. Caughey; stem wind, N. M. Benson ; escapement,
J. F. Crowe; dial. C.B.Nichols; timing, T. Presternd;
finishing A, W. J. Evans; finishing C, J. Pedersen.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE Rockford Watch Company was organized in March
1S74, with a capital stock of $150,000. The incor-
poi'ators were H. P. Holland, Israel Sovereign and George
Troxell. The company immediately proceeded to construct
the necessary tools and machinery and build a suitable fac-
tory. The factory was completed early in 1S76, and the
necessary tools and machinery moved into it. The first
officers of the company were: President, Levi Rhodes,
Vice Prest., Henry W. Price; Treasurer, George Troxell.
The first Board of Directors consisted of George D. Clarke,
Orlando Clarke, A. D. Forbes, Thos. Butterworth, Israel
Sovereign, S. P. Crawford and the President, Vice Prest.
and Treasurer. The company placed its first goods upon
the market in the fall of 1876. Most of the emplo3'es came
from the Cornell Watch Company's factory at Grand
Crossing. Geo. D. Clarke was made Superintendent and
P. H. Wheeler assistant Superintendent. Mr. Clarke
was succeeded in 1S76 by J. W. Hurd. The foremen were
as follows: U. C. Osborne, polishing; J. E. Tobin, spring-
ing; J. D. Camp, pinions; C. W. Parker,''plate room, and
G. A. Hines, jeweling.
After due consideration, the company decided that
they would sell their products direct to the retail trade, and
were the pioneers of this system. They also decided that
it was better to make a small number of watches of a good
quality, rather than a large number of indifferent quality.
The company soon found that there was a steadilv increas-
(S3)
84 THE. WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
ing demand for a watch suitable for railroad men, and they
decided to make all their movements quick train.
The Rockford Company, unlike many others of its kind,
met with success from the start, and has never been com-
pelled to close its doors. Much of this success is due to ex-
cellent judgment and rare business ability and foresight of
its managers, but not a little is also due to the excellency of
its products.
The factory, which is situated in a commanding position
upon a bluff, is a three story brick and stone structure,
occupying a frontage of 96 feet, and consists of a central
building 32 x 125 feet with two wings, each 32 x 70 feet.
The present product of the company is i 50 movements per
day, and 350 persons are employed.
The fourteen different departments of the factory are
presided over as follows:
Superintendent, Albert Troller. Foreman machine and
die, John A. Johnson ; plate, John Glynn ; gilding,
Thomas Conway; escape and flat steel, J. S. Clark;
screw, Bert Waters; springing, timing and adjusting,
James E. Tobin; pinion roughing, Fred Lake; pinion
finishing, Louis C* Grassell; balance, Fred Goi^k; jewel-
ing, Guy H. Cutting; motion, W. H. Colburn; dial, E.J.
Guilford; polishing, U. C. Osborne; matching, William
Wildt; finishing, James C. Gaskins.
The officers of the company are: President, Henry W.'
Price; Secretary, Hosmer P. Holland; Treasurer, J. P.
Drake.
CHAPTER XIV.
IN May, 1S74, several prominent citizens of Lancaster, Pa.,
together with J. C. Adams, organized a watch company
with a capital stock of $78,000. In June of the same year
a Board of Directors was elected together with the follow-
ing officers: President, E. J. Zahm; Vice-President, John
Best; Sec'y and Gen'l Manager, J. C. Adams, and Treasurer,
J. B, Roath. The company was incorporated Sept. 26,
1874, under the name of the Adams & Perry Watch Mfg.
Co. E. H. Perry was appointed superintendent and sev-
eral of his patents were adopted by the company, a royalty
of three dollars per movement being paid to him. A
machine shop was started and work on the tools and machin-
ery commenced.
Mr, C. A. Bitner, of Lancaster, donated a three-acre tract
of land as a site for a factory and work on the building-
was commenced in the fall of 1S74. The factory was com-
pleted in the summer of 1875, and the tools and machinery-
were moved in. About this time the first misunderstanding
arose, Mr. Adams' plan was to import the escapements, etc.,
but his suggestions were overruled and those of Mr. Perrv,
to manufacture the comj^lete movement in the factory, were
adopted. Mr. Adams thereupon resigned his position both
as Secretary and Manager.
In the fall of 1875 the company found themselves pressed
for ready funds and accordingly bonds to the amount of
$35,000 were issued. The first movement was finished
April, 7, 1876, twenty-two months after starting the build-
(S5)
86
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
ing of the machinery. The great delay in getting out the
movements involved considerable expense and the company
again found themselves in an embarrassing position. An
effort was made to increase the capital stock, but it proved
a failure, and the factory was closed May i6, 1876.
Efforts were immediateh' set on foot and a new company
was organized. The old directors then resigned and were
succeeded by eleven new ones. The following resolutions
were then adopted : " That all contracts with operatives be
annulled. That all the patents owned by E. H. Perry
shall be assigned to the
company, with the proviso
that if Mr. PeiTy shall leave
the company he shall have
the I'ight to allow one other
company to use them. That
the royalty hereafter be paid
to Mr. Perry be $1 for each
movement. That the direc-
tors raise $50,000 by issuing
covertible mortgage bonds,
or by any other means, and
that said bonds be sold to
the stockholders at 80 per cent of their face, and any
part of said bonds remaining unsold to be placed upon the
market at par. That the capital stock be increased to $250,-
000 and Mr. A. Bitner appointed manager."
The following officers were then elected: President,
Dr. H. Carpenter; Vice-President, B. F.Eshelman; Treas-
urer, C. A. Bitner; Sec'y, J. P. McCask}^;. Manager, Abra-
ham Bitner. For some unknown reason the bonds above
mentioned were never issued, and on June 10, 1876, the
company being pushed by their creditors were obliged to
make an assignment to C. A. Bitner, who sold the property
THE KEYSTONE MOVEMENT.
PAST AND PRESENT. Sy
at public sale. It was purchased by Dr. Carpenter for a
syndicate for $47,000, subject to two mortgages aggregat-
ing $30,000.
In August, 1877, the Lancaster Watch Company was
formed, and the}- advanced a cash capital of $31,000, con-
sisting of seven shares of $3,000 each. These shares were
THK FACTORY OF THE KEYSTONE WATCH COMPANY, LANCASTER, PA.
owned by A. Bitner, S. F. Rathfou, John Best, Bitner &
Hostetter, Eshelman & Rathfou, J. P. McCasky, and H. S.
Gurra. Work -was commenced Sept. i, 1877, and a new
movement was designed and modeled. It was a three-
quarter plate, full jeweled. In the fall of 1878 the capital
stock was increased $35,000, mainlv through the efforts of
Mr. A. Bitner.
88 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
The company was reorganized Oct. 31, 1S78, under the
name of the Lancaster, Pa., Watch Company, Limited,
with a capital of $160,000. The old model adopted hy the
company not proving satisfactory, a new one was ordered,
but before any of this pattern could be placed upon the mar-
ket the company again found itself short of ready funds.
An attempt was made to borrow money, but owing to a
misunderstanding among the stockholders, this proved a
failure. A new company was formed May 9, 1879, under
the title of the Lancaster Watch Company. The new com-
pany leased the property, paying 6 per cent, interest, taxes
and insurance; this lease was for a term not to exceed five
years, the interest being based on a valuation of $130,000.
The following officers were then elected: Prest., J. I.
Hartmann; Sec'y.,J. P. McCasky; Treas.,J. D. Skyles.
Mr. A. Bitner was appointed Manager. Things went on
swimmingly for some time, the product being greatly
increased, and in April, 18S3, the Lancaster Watch Com-
pany surrendered its lease to the owners, the Lancaster,
Pa., Watch Company. The two companies then consoli-
dated with a capital stock of $248,000, with the same offi-
cers and a few slight changes in the board of directors. In
July, 1S83, the factory was again closed, but later on the
board succeeded in borrowing $35,000 and work was
resumed, although a heavy indebtedness had accumulated
and many of the stockholders began to grow uneasy. Mr.
Bitner then made the dissatisfied stockholders a proposition
to take their stock off their hands without compensation and
assume all indebtedness. Several large stockholders trans-
ferred their stock and together with other blocks which he
purchased at ridiculously low figures, Mr, Bitner soon
became the owner of 5,625 of the 8,000 shares.
In 1886 the Keystone Standard Watch Co., with a full
paid capital of $500,000 purchased the factory. Its officers
PAST AND PRESENT. 89
are: President, Dr. C. M. Shellenberger; Vice-President,
Geo. M. Franklin; Sec'y and Treas., W. Z. Sener. Direc-
tors, Geo. M. Franklin and W. Z. Sener, of Lancaster, and
Dr. C. M. Shellenberger, Stanton Wilgus and W. J. Atkin-
son, of Philadelphia.
The officers of the new company are all men of means,
ability and energy, with the reputation of having succeeded
in every enterprise they have ever undertaken. Under their
control the factory has been steadily increasing its output
and the quality of its goods. They expect within a short
time to reach a production of at least 300 a day.
The superintendents and foremen are as follows: Super-
intendent, Abraham Bitner; ass't supt.,J. H.Koch; master
mechanic, W. H. Denny; foreman, train, Joseph Buettner;
plate, Wesley Rooney; screw, A. Burkhai't; jeweling, A.
Buch; motion, Joel Baker; balance, C. E. Wilson; flat steel,
W. Coho; escape, H. Coho; springing, Marcus Keeport;
finishing, E. Snyder; gilding, Joseph Gorde; dial making,
Frank Rooney; dial painting, George Hetrick; inspector
John W. Bitner.
Their entire product is placed through Atkinson Bros., of
Philadelphia, who sell mainly to the jobbing trade.
CHAPTER XV.
IN the year 1875, Mr. vS. Sawyer of Fitchburg, Mass., con-
cluded to start a watch factory in the town in which he
resided. His idea was to build the necessary machinery,
make a model movement and when everything was ready,
to interest capital and organize a watch company. Accor-
dingly he entered into negotiations with Mr. H. J. Lowe,
who had previously been a superintendent in the United
States watch factory, and after renting a suitable building
the manufacture of the necessary machinery was com-
menced. Several gentlemen, who were formerly connected
with the United States Watch Company, were engaged to
see to the building of the machinery, among them being
Messrs. Thos. Parker, A. R. Bardeen, Chas. Whitehouse
and Gilbert Crowell. Mr. Crowell was made superinten-
dent and the work went on at a very lively rate.
At the end of three years the machinery was well under
way and Mr. Sawyer went in search of capitalists who
were willing to invest their money in a watch factory.
Previous to this time Mr. Lowe severed his connection with
the concern owing to his ill-health. Mr. Sawyer's search
was not rewarded with success and his own money having
given out he decided to cease operations until moneyed par-
ties could be fotmd. Work was accordiiigly stopped, the
employes discharged and the factory was closed up. Sub-
sequently Mr. Crowell retui'ned to Fitchburg and was
associated with Mr. Sawyer in the Sawyer Watch Tool
Co. Part of the old machinery was used in their business
(91)
92 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
and the balance was sold to Cornell and other watch com-
panies. At the time of closing the factory, the necessary
machinery for an output of twenty-five movements
per day was finished. The machinery cost Mr. Sawyer
$45,000 exclusive of rent and taxes and he realized very
little of this amount from the sales.
CHAPTER XVL
IN 1876, J. R. Hopkins, together with W. A. Wales,
visited Auburndale, Mass., with a view to interesting W.
B. Fowle, a capitalist of that place, in a watch factory
project. The movement which they proposed to manufac-
ture was known as the " rotary," and was invented by Mr.
Hopkins. It was somewhat similar in construction to the
Waterbury and like it, it made a complete revolution once
every hour. It w^as an i8-size, anchor escapement, and was
stem wind and set. Mr. Fowle, after an investigation, con-
cluded there was money in the project and soon after made
arrangements for the erection of a factory. Negotiations
were entered into with Geo. E. Hart, of Newark, N. J.,
for the manufactui'e of the machinery. This machinery
required considerable overhauling and remodeling, never-
theless, the first movements were finished in the fall of 1877
and were immediately placed upon the market. They
were cased in open faced nickel cases and sold at ten dol-
lars each to the trade. Very soon complaints began to
come to the manufacturers that these movements were
defective and the greater majority of them were taken back
b}'' the firm. In all, about one thousand movenients were
made and the greater majority of them found their way
into the waste heap. The Auburndale Rotary was not a
success, but the management were not discouraged and im-
mediately began work on a new movement invented by
Mr. Hopkins, and known as the Auburndale Timer. They
were i8-size, i^, 5^ and i-io seconds. The " Timer" was
(93)
94
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
improved by A. Craig, J. H.Gerry and W. A. Wales. Mr.
Craig, ^vho was master mechanic, invented the stop and
starting arrangement and Mr. Gerry invented tlie escape-
ment. At this time the management of the factory was as
follows:
W. E.Rae, the first superintendent, died very suddenly of
heart disease and his position was filled by Wm. Geust,
who was in turn succeeded by J. H. Gerry, who was suc-
ceeded in 1S78 by G. H. Bourne, who was succeeded by E.
H. Perry, who was succeeded by J. Hinds, who was suc-
ceeded by O. L. Strout.
B. F. Gerry was fore-
man escapement mak-
ing; Thomas Steele,
foreman train room ;
Fredk. H. Eaves, fore-
man motion and jewel-
ing rooms; John Rowe,
foreman flat steel ; A.
Craig, master mechanic;
W. Simmons, plate, and
O. L. Strout, spi'inging
and finishing room. The the auburndale rotary.
general management of the business was in the hands of
Messrs. Wales and Fowle.
In 1878 Chauncey Hartwell, under the direction of the
management, made a model of an 18 -size, three-quarter
plate movement, and work was immediately commenced on
these watches. Mr. Hartwell was a practical watchmaker
having had many years experience in the Waltham factory.
The first of these movements made their appearance in the
summer of 1879, the " Bently " was a stem-wind and the
" Lincoln " a key-wind, and both were gilt movements.
About three hundred of these movements were manufac-
PAST AND PRESENT. 95
tured when the idea was abandoned, as the movements
could not be sold at a price that would realize any profit
for the manufacturers. The manufacture of these move-
ments was started at a very dull time, when all watches
were a drug on the market, and the company tried to make
a three-quarter plate to compete in price with the cheap
full plate, that the others companies were then making.
At the time they were the only cheap three-quarter plate
movements on the market and were very well made, con-
sidering the very poor facilities they then had for making
them. Pi'obably in the history of modern watch-making,
no company had so iiiay difficulties to overcome and
showed such good results from their labors.
In 1S79 a, stock company was formed of which Mr.
Fowle was made President and G. H. Bourne, Secretary
and Treasurer. After abandoning the " Bentley" and
" Lincoln " movements the company turned their attention
to the manufacture of dial thermometers and horse-timers.
They continued in this business until i8Si, when they
abandoned the timers and devoted their entire attention
to thermometers.
The " Timer " was, as far as the manufacture was con-
cerned, a success, but a want of business push and enter-
prize on the part of the management was lacking and con-
sequently, although the goods were acknowledged to be of
a fair quality, yet sales were very slow.
The company failed in the fall of 18S3, and early in the
following year the machinery was sold. Those who are in
a position to judge are confident that the original Auburn-
dale Rotary would have been a success had the proper
machinery been made for its manufacture and a few
changes made in its construction. It was a simple move-
ment and was therefore inexpensive to manufacture.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE Hampden Watch Company was organized in Jan-
uary, 1877, virtually succeeding the New York Watch
Manufacturing Compan}- as described in Chapter X.
Homer Foote was the first President, and Chas. D. Rood,
Treasurer and Business Manager. The first Board of Direc-
tors was composed of Homer Foote, Jas. D. Baur, A. Bree-
ver and Aaron Bragg. H.
J. Cain was made superin-
tendent and still occupies
that position. The old
movement of the New
York Company was re-
modeled, and the factorv
opened in the summer of
1S77. In 1881 a new brick
building was erected, 40 x
100 feet, and three stories
and basement. Five build-
ings were then used by the company, the main one being
30x120 feet, brick, three stories and basement, and has
a central tovv^er. The other buildings are respectively
33 X 50, 40 X 100, 45 X 90 and 40 x 80. The company turn
out fourteen grades of movements, which are all full-plate,
with the exception of the " State Street," which is i6-size,
three- quaiter plate and gilded steel. The power is furn-
ished by a ninety-horse power engine, situated in a building
back of the main structure. The capacity of the factory is
400 movements per dav, and 400 hands are emplo}'ed,
(97)
THE PERRY MOVEMENT.
98
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
In 1886 Mr. John C. Dueber, of watch case fame, pur-
chased a controlling interest in the Hampden Company.
As the company had been behind in their orders and the
movement had a good reputation, Mr. Dueber thought it
would be wise to enlarge the works and make the output at
least five hundred movements per day. With this object
in view he visited several tracts of land in Springfield, but
found that the only suitable land in that place, then on the
THE HAMPDEN WATCH FACTORY, AT SPRINGFIELD, MASS.
market, was held at such exorbitant figures that it was use-
less to spend further time there. Wishing to extend his
case works at Newport, Ky., he thought it would be advis-
able to secure a desirable location and build new factories
for both concerns in the same neighborhood, thus making
the largest and most magnificent watch establishment in
the world. Accordingly Mr. Dueber advertised for a loca-
tion, and finally settled on Canton, Ohio, as the most appro-
priate place. The people of Canton donated $100,000 and
lOO THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
twenty acres of land for the factories. The site is at the
western edge of the city, on a bkiff with a commanding
view. The ilhistration, made from the architect's phms,
gives a fair idea of how the Hampden factory looks.
The building for the Dueber factory is very similar in con-
struction. The buildings are all three stories high, with
pressed brick and cut stone fronts, and from right to left,
occupy a frontage of 1,140 feet. In the rear of each build-
ing is a smaller line of buildings, not shown in the illustra-
tion. The engine and boiler rooms are also situated back
of each building. The buildings were ready for occu-
pancy in the spring of 188S, when the machinery was
moved from Springfield.
Chas. D. Rood is President, Treasurer and Business Man-
ager, and Henry J. Cain, Superintendent.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE Waterbury Watch was invented to fill a demand
for a cheap watch. The Waltham, Elgin and other
companies manufactured watches that were within the reach
of people of moderate means, but there still existed a wide
field which was unoccupied until the Waterbviry Watch
made its appearance. There were still millions of people
who could not afford to purchase a watch even at the low
price at which the Waltham, Elgin, et. al. were selling.
Some of the manufacturers of the Naugatuck Valley,
appreciating this fact, undertook to fill this want, and their
endeavors were crowned with success. The first thing
required was a man who could make a model watch, that
would possess fair qualifications as a time-keeper, and yet
have a less number of j^arts than any watch then on the
market. It was absolutely essential that it should possess a
less number of parts than those then on the market, in order
to cheapen its manufacture, so that the complete watch, case
and all might be retailed at $3.50. The making of the
model was intrusted to Mr. D. A. Buck, at that time a
watchmaker of Worcester, Mass. Mr. Buck was of a
mechanical turn of mind. At the Centennial Exhibition,,
in 1S76, there was shown the largest steam engine in the
world, and close to it was working its brother, the smallest.
The small engine was designed and built by Mr. Buck, and
in its construction he vised only such tools as are usually
found on a watch repairer's bench. This machine consisted
of a boiler, an engine, with cylinder, governor, valves and
(lOl)
I02
THK WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
all the details of its monster brother, worked to a charm,
and was yet so small that it could be completely covered
with an ordinary thivnble. Mr. Buck's first experiment on
the model proved a failure, but after a
few months' work he produced a working
model which was pronounced satisfactory.
This model was shown to Mr. Charles
Benedict, of the Benedict & Burnham
Manufacturing Co., of Waterbury, Conn.,
who after testing it in various ways pro-
nounced it satisfactory, and made arrange-
ments for starting the work of manu-
facture in his establishment. It was
supposed that
with the tools
owned by the
Benedict &
Burnham Co.,
together ^vith
special tools to
b e manufac-
tured, that the
work could be
comnienced in about six
months. This was in January,
1878, but it was not until
December, 1879, that every-
thing was ready for the start.
The rooms set apart in the
factory soon proved too small,
and a special building was erected for the purpose. A stock
company was incorporated under the style of "The Water-
bury Watch Company," and Mr. Benedict was elected as
the first President. The movement was patented, and the
END VIEW.
SPRING UNWOUND.
PAST AND PRESENT.
lO:
patents became the property of the company. The ne^v
factory was designed by Mr. H. W. Hartwell, of Boston,
the architect of the Waltham and Elgin companies' fac-
tories. When the building was finished and furnished it
was found that nearly half a million of dollars had been
expended.
The first few thousand movements were placed in colored
celluloid cases, but
these were soon aban-
doned for a nickel-
silver case. The first
watches had open dials
through which the
working parts could be
seen, but this was soon
changed for a full dial
and solid plates. The
Waterbury Watch is
novel in construction,
and it is this novelty
that admits of its being
made and sold at a
very low price. It is
a stem winder, and
takes a long time to
wind owing to the
extreme length of the
spring, which in fact nearly fills the entire back of the
case. The spring is wound upon a brass plate having a
geared edge, and upon the stem is a smaller gear fitting
into the larger, so that in winding the entire plate bearing
the spring is made to revolve. This, however, is an old
feature, but the novelty consists in the works themselves
which are free to revolve upon the central axis, making an
entire revolution every hour.
7
SPRING WOUND-UP.
Io6 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
It must be admitted, even by the most prejudiced, that
the Waterbury is simplicity itself. The minute hand turns
with the movement, and the hour hand is made to revolve
by a train of three wheels, a hair spring and balance, and
the movement is complete. Taking every part — screws,
case, pinions, wheels, springs, in fact everything — and you
have only fifty-eight parts in all. There are no jewels, the
iTianufacturers claiming that the beai'ings being constantly
changed by its peculiar motion, jewels are unnecessary.
THE WATERBURY FACTORY.
The factory, which is located at Waterbury, Conn., is a
brick building and consists of three parts; a square central
building four stories high, a long wing in the rear three
stories high, and a smaller wing one story high. The spring
department and pattern shop are located in the basement of
the central building; the officers of the company occupy
the first floor; the material room, designing room and rooms
of the mechanical superintendent and draughtsman occupy
the second floor; the finishing room occupies the fourth
floor. The machine shop is located on the first floor of the
wing, the case department on the second and train room on
PAST AND PRESENT. IO7
the third floor. This company gives employment to three
hundred people and turns out fifteen hundred watches per
day.
The present officers are: Charles Dickinson, President
and Treasurer; Edward A. Locke, Secretary; George
Merritt, Gen. Agent.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE Independent Watch company of Fredonia, N. Y.
was organized in April 1880, by E. D. and C. M.
Howard. The Howard Bros., for some years previous to
this date, sold large numbers of watches on the install-
ment plan. These watches, which were engraved "Inde-
pendent Watch Co.," were manufactured for them by
several American companies. The Howards decided, that
as they used large numbers of watches, it would be policy
to start a factory of their own.
The capital stock of the company was $150,000. E.
D. Howard was elected President, E. S. Gates, Vice Pres-
ident and O. R. Burchard, Secretary and Treasurer. C.
M. Howard was made business manager. The Board of
Directors consisted of E. D. and C. M. Howard, W. H.
Smith, O. R. Burchard, D. R. Barker and E. S. Gates. A
building owned by the Howard Bros., was remodeled to serve
as a factory. The machinery used inthe factx)Ty, wasfor the
most part a miscellaneous collection which had been pur-
chased by the Howard Bros., from the assignees of several
defunct companies. Portions of this machinery came from
the old Cornell factory at Grand Crossing, 111., while other
portions came from the old United States factory at Mar-
ion, N. J. Considerable unfinished material had also been
purchased by the Howard Bros., from the assignee of the
United States Watch Company. This material, together
with the machinery was sold to the new company, the
Howard Bros., taking stock for it, in the new company.
(109)
no THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Chas, S. Moseley was engaged as Superintendent, Jas.
Dangerfield as foreman of the screw, plate and flat steel de-
jDartments, John Baxter, foreman of escapement making.
G. D. Parsons, foreman of jeweling and motion, and Thos.
Perkins, foreman of finishing. The company first devoted
their attention to the finishing up of the old United States
movements. These movements however did not sell
readily to the trade, and in 1SS3 a new^ iS-size model was
made.
The company had sometime previous to this abandoned
the idea of selling the movements at retail, and were confin-
ing their sales exclusivel}" to the trade. Mr. Moseley was
succeeded in Oct., iSSi, by Jas. Dangerfield, under whose
superintendency the new movements were gotten out,
making their appearance in the summer of 1883.
A prejudice in the trade, existed against the watch, owing
to the former methods adopted by the Howard Bros., in
disposing of their watches, and this prejudice was so strong
that it was found almost next to an impossibility to sell
them.
In the fall of 18S3, C. M. Howard went to Chicago to
meet J. C. Adams and induce him, if possible, to associate
himself vsath the company. After considering several pro-
positions made by Mr. Howard, Mr. Adams finally went to
Fredonia and examined the machinery, stock of move-
ments, etc. He found that the company had on hand about
eight thousand finished movements, and about two thousand
more in a partially finished condition. The movements
were anything but satisfactory, as the escapements were faulty
and the general finish poor. Mr. Adams advised the com-
pany to finish up what movements they had in process of
construction, sell them at any price they could get for them
and close the factor}^ temporarily in order to overhaul the
machinery which was in a miserable condition. He also
PAST AND PRESENT. Ill
advised them to re-organize the company vuider a new
name and expend several thousand dollars in nev^ ma-
chiney, w^hich was badly needed. This the company
decided to do and accordingly they re-organized under the
title of the Fredonia Watch Company, with a capital of
$ 1 50,000.
Mr. Adams then made arrangements with the company
to go on the road and in a few months he disposed of all of
the old movements at a general average of six dollars each,
which was considered a very good price for them.
During the year 1S84, the machinery was thoroughly
overhauled and some new and improved machinery and
tools added. The factory was then started up again. Still
the movements did not sell as well as they might and dur-
ing the summer of 1S85 the advisability of moving the fac-
tory to some other city, w^here capital could be interested,
was thoroughly discussed.
Accordingly Mr. Adams was authorized to look up a
new location and interest capital and organize a new com-
pany. He visited Peoria, 111., and finally succeeded in open-
ing negotiations which resulted in the sale of the machinery
to a new company know^n as the Peoria Watch Com-
pany.
CHAPTER XX.
IN the fall of 1S79, E. F. Bowman, then a retail jeweler,
but now of the jobbing firm of Bowman & Musser, Lan-
caster, Pa., ordered a small outfit of watchmaking machin-
ery from Geo. E. Hart, of Newark, N.J. This machinery
he set up on the floor over his jewelry store, where he pro-
posed to manufacture watches in a small way. In January,
1880, he engaged the services of W. H Todd, who had
formerly been superintend-
ent of the Lancaster Watch
Company, and had been
succeeded by C. S. Moseley.
Mr. Todd immediately pro-
ceeded to make a model
watch. This being com-
pleted he busied himself in
making some necessary small
tools and then proceeded
with the making of the
watches. There were but the bowman watch.
five workmen in all, but they accomplished a great deal
in a small space of time, for in 18S2 some thirty complete
watches were ready, while others were nearly finished.
The entire movement, with the exception of the balance
and dial was made in the factory. These movements were
all i6-size, nickel, stem wind, full jeweled, three-quarter
plate, and were very handsome and well finished. The
movements being manufactured on so small a scale were
(113)
114 TUE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
necessarily very expensive to produce and but little margin
was left after selling, for the manufacturer. In the mean-
time Mr. Bow^man had embarked in the wholesale jewelry
trade and this business becoming pressing and occupying
the greater part of his time, he decided that it would be
policy to sell the watch plant if he could find a purchaser.
This ^vas in the spring of 18S2, and in the follo^ving
summer a sale was effected to J. P. Stevens, of Atlanta, Ga.
Mr. Stevens had for some time prior to this date been
purchasing partially finished movements from the Hamp-
den Watch Company and having his own workmen finish
them, fitting a regulator of his own device and several other
improvements.
After the purchase of this machinery Mr. Stevens organ-
ized a company known as the J. P. Stevens Watch Com-
pany,with a capital of $100,000. J. P. Stevens was elected
President, and L. O. Stevens, Secretary. A new building
was erected and additional machinery added to the plant.
W. H. Todd was engaged as Superintendent and he made
the model for the new w^atch, which closely resembled the
Bowman movement. In the spring of 1SS4, C. Li. Hoyt
was made Superintenbent and Mr. Todd took charge of the
train and plate department, C. H. Bagley, foreman escape-
ment and jeweling, and T. W. Thompson, foreman of fin-
ishing.
Everything appeared to be going along smoothly, the
factory turning out about ten movements per day, when in
the fall of 1S85, J. C. Freeman, the largest stockholder iia
the company died. After his death his heirs became invol-
ved in law suits and things assumed such a disagree-
able phase that the Stevens brothers sold out their interest
in the factory to the Freeman heirs. The new company
was known as D. N. Freeman & Co. This company failed
early in 1887 and the watch machinery was disposed of.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE Columbus Watch Company was organized Nov.
i8, 18S2, with a capital of $150,000, which was subse-
quently increased to $200,000. This company succeeded
the firm of Gruen & Savage, who made a business of
importing partially made Swiss movements and finishing
them in Columbus. Messrs. Gruen & Savage occupied a
two story brick factory built
by them in 1879, which was
purchased by the new com
pany and a new buildmg
35X 95 feet was built on and
connected by a passage-wa}
with engine house in the real
as shown in the engraving
About the first step that the
new company took was the
making of tools and ma
chinery for the manufacture
of the watch complete. The
tools and models for the first movements were completed
in about nine months from the time of the organization
of the company, being the quickest time on record. The
company manufacture four sizes of movements, sixteen,
eighteen, four and six sizes. They make both key and
stem wind movements. The officers of the company are:
D. Gruen, President and General Manager, and W. J.
Savage, Secretary and Treasurer ; Walter W. Owens,
(115)
THE COLUMBUS WATCH.
Il6 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Supt. Three hundred hands are employed, and the output
is about one hundred and fifty finished movements per day.
The various departments of the factory are presided over
as follovs^s: The escapement, screw and flat steel, John
Walsh; pinion roughing and pinion cutting, W. C. Her-
man; pinion finishing, Wm. Keene; balance, W. Clarke;
jeweling and motion, F. Bergmann; stem wind, Wm. Sauer;
dial, W. Sherwood; adjusting, H. Ziplinski; finishing, H.
Devitt.
The main offices of the Company are located at Colum-
bus, Ohio, and 43 Maiden Lane, New York. The goods
manufactured by this company bear an excellent reputation
as time-keepers and sell readily.
CHAPTER XXII.
IN June, 1883, the Aurora Watch Company, of Aurora,
111., was incorporated, with a capital stock of $250,000 in
shares of $100 each. The projectors of the company had
in view an idea which had been advanced on several occa-
sions, but had never come to a successful issue, /. e., a strictly
trade watch company, or in other words, a company whose
products should be controlled by the retail trade, doing away
with the middle-man or
jobber. The capital stock
of this company is largely
owned and controlled by
retail dealers, who handle
the product. One dealer
only in each town is allowed
the privilege of selling
their goods, preference
being given to the dealers
who are stockholders.
The incorporators were
E. W. Trask, A. Somarin-
dyck, F. L. Pond, H. H. Evans, D. F. Van Liew,H. Miller,
and A.J. Hopkins. The first officers were E. W. Trask,
President; Albert H. Pike, Vice-President; Maurice Wen-
dell, Treasurer and Business Manager; Geo. F. Johnson,
Superintendent. The first directors were M. Huffman, E.
W. Trask, A. H. Pike, Maurice Wendell, and Geo. F. John-
son. In March, 1SS5, Maurice Wendell was succeeded as
(119)
THE AURORA WATCH.
PAST AND PRESENT. I2I
Treasurer and Manager by A. Somarindyck, and shortly
after Mr. Trask resigned as President, and was succeeded
by Mr. A. Somarindyck. In December, 1885, G. F.John-
son was succeeded as superintendent by J. W. Hurd, who
was succeeded by Robert Mcintosh, who held the position
till March i, 1887, when Geo. F.Johnson, who planned and
built the factory and its machinery, was reinstated as Super-
intendent and now holds that important position.
The illustration of the factory here given is from the
architect's plans, the building at present not being complete.
The one wing now occupied covers 135x35 feet, and is
three stories and basement. The machinery building is 35
X 95 feet, with wing for boiler and engine room 25 x 40 feet.
Some 200 hands are employed, and the capacity is 100
movements per day. The Aurora watches, which have
good reputations as time-keepers, are made in vai"ious grades,
and fit Elgin-style cases. They are full-plate, iS-size, nickel
and gilt, with quick train.
The present officers of the company are A. Somarindyck,
President; M. Huffman, Vice-President; J. H. Weber,
Manager; N. Somarindyck, Treasurer; T. H. Day, Secre-
tary, and Geo. F. Johnson, Supeiuntendent.
The foremen of the various departments are as follows:
Pinion finishing, Clarence Coonradt; pinion roughing,
Henry Ulreci; jeweling, J. W.Morse; escapement, George
Allspach; balance and screw, Robt. Shepard; damaskeen-
ing, E. D. Hanchett; gilding, Jno. Fairchild; finishing, C.
H. Connor; plate, Eugene Spalding; machine shop, A. H.
Clavois.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE New Haven Watch Company was incorporated
October,' 13, 18S3, with a capital of $100,000. W. E.
Doolittle, who is the patentee of a movement was the organ-
izer of the company. New Haven, Conn., was decided on
as a site and work was at once commenced on the machin-
ery. A two story brick building, formerly occupied as a
machine shop,v\^as rented January i, 1884, and the machinery
was moved into it. It was at first intended to manufacture
the Doolittle watch, but the plan was abandoned and a reg-
ular lever watch substituted in its stead.
The first board of Directors consisted of Aaron Carter,
Lewis J. Mulford, Gerritt S. Glenn, W. E. Doolittle, and
J. H. Brewer. The first officers were: Aaron Carter, Pres-
ident; Lewis J. Mulford, Vice-President and Treasurer, and
Gerritt S. Glenn, Secretary. In the fall of 1885, (the cap-
ital of the company being nearly exhausted), it became
necessary to increase the working capital, and accordingly
Mr. Brewer paid a visit to Trenton with the intention of
interesting capitalists. His efforts were successful, as the
Trenton people agreed to furnish the necessary capital
should the factory be moved to their city. About three
acres of land were purchased in Chambersburg, a suburb,
and the erection of a factory immediately commenced.
The capital was then increased to $250,000, the name
changed to The Trenton Watch Company, and a new
Board of Directors consisting of J. H. Brewer, W. F. Van
Camp, T. W. Burger, Saml. K. Wilson, J. L. Murphy,
(123)
Illltl
il
nli*Si
i'ill
"A
IIIIIIP'- i
1.,,:;
PAST AND PRESENT.
125
Lawrence Farrell and W. S. Stryker was elected. J. H.
Brewer was elected President; W. F. Van Camp, Treasurer,
and J. C. Thomas, Secretary. The people of Trenton
subscribed $50,000 to the enterprise.
S. T. J. Byam, for many years with the American Wal-
tham Watch Company and later with the Waterbury
Watch Company was made Superintendent, a position
which he still holds. F. W. Keegan, formerly with the
Marion, Cheshire, and Waterbury companies, has charge
of the finishing department. P. W. Brady, who was for
twenty-five years connected with the American Waltham
Watch Company, has charge
of the train room. Charles
Taylor, formerly with the
American Waltham an d
Waterbviry companies, has
chai'ge of the escapement
room. A. E. Wait, formerly
of Waltham, has charge of
the machine shop, and E. A.
Hitchcock has charge of the
case making.
THE TRENTON MOVEMENT. rr-ll £ i. 1'1'UMj-
1 he factory, waiich is built
of pressed brick, is one of the most complete in all its details.
The finishing is all done in hard pine and the light is
splendid, each workman having a window to himself. It
is a three story and basement building, 50 x 55 feet, with a
wing 34 X 120 feet.
The Trenton Watch is straight-line lever escapement,
with second hand, i8-size, jeweled, stem wind and set, and
quick train. The company make all their own cases which
are known as " silverine." About 200 employees are now
at work and the output is at present about 180 per day.
136 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
The full capacity of the factory is 500 finished watches
per clay with 350 hands. The present capital of the com-
pany is $300,000. For the first three years the company
sold their movements direct to the retail trade but later on
their product was handled by jobbers. The main office is
situated at Trenton, N. J., and Francis E. Morse & Co.,
Chicago, are the sole western agents.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHARLES S. MosELEY, whose name has been in-
timately connected witli the history of nearly every
watch factory in this comitry, was born in Westfield, Mass.,
Feb. 28, 1828. In 1836 he accompanied his father to
Princeton, 111,, but soon returned to Massachusetts. At the
age of eighteen he entered a machine shop in Westfield,
and some time afterwards went to Boston where he worked
for George H. Fox, as a machinist, and remained there for
some years. His first connection with the watch factories
was in 1852, when he entered the employ of Dennison,
Howard & Davis, who were then beginning the manu-
factvu'e of watches in Roxbury, Mass. Mr. Moseley went
with them when the factory was removed to Waltham, and
remained with the company, serving in the capacity of fore-
man of the machine shop and later as master mechanic.
About the year 1S59 the Nashua Watch Company was
started, and Mr. Moseley cast his lot with it, acting as
master mechanic. He designed and built the machinery
with which that movement was manufactured; and it is
worthy of remark, that no better watch has ever been
made since in this countr}-.
In the fall of 1S64 Mr. Moseley identified himself with
the Elgin National Watch Company, then just starting,
and was made general superintendent, in which capacity
he remained with the company till 1877.
Mr. Moseley has assisted, when they were in need of en-
gineering help, a mmiber of other factories. As a
(127)
128 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
mechanical engineer and a designer of watch machinery
especially, he has had no superiors and but few equals.
Many well known inventions are due to his genius.
Among those that have acquired a world wide reputation,
we may mention the interchangeable stem wind mechanism
of the Elgin National Watch Company, patented in 1876.
The dust band, or dust excluder, used by the same
company, the best and cheapest ever made. The
triangular hair spring stud. A patent regulator,
and many others. One of his earliest inventions in
connection with the manufacture of watches is the
spring or split chuck, an accessory now become unI^'ersal
and indispensible to every watch maker in the land.
At this writing, although somewhat advanced in years,
Mr. Moseley is still actively engaged in mechanical en-
gineering of an advanced natm-e, the full history and value
of which must be reserved for future historians to
chronicle.
P. S. Bartlett, whose name is familiar to every watch-
maker and jeweler in America, and we might say the
world, was born in Amesbury, Mass., September 3, 1834.
His first connection with watch making, was in 1854 when
he went to work for the Boston Watch Company, just
after its removal to Waltham, Mass., where he occupied
the position of foreman of the plate and screw department.
In 1859 the American Watch Companv put upon the mar-
ket a new 18-size movement which they engraved "P. S.
Bai'tlett" in honor of the subject of this sketch. In 1S61
the same company manufactured their first ladies' watch
which they also designated as the "P. S. Bartlett," having
abandoned the 18-size made in 1859.
In 1864 he visited Chicago, and together with Messrs.
Chas. S. Moseley, J. C. Adams, and Ira G. Blake, organ-
CHARLES S. MOSELEY.
PAST AND PRESENT. I3I
ized the National Watch Company, of Chicago, afterwards
known as the Elgin National Watch Company. He sub-
sequently signed a contract with that company for five
years as foreman of the plate and screw departments. He
was for seven years assistant superintendent and general
traveling agent for the company, during which time he in-
troduced the Elgin Watches in Europe, selling them in
Moscow^, St. Petersburg and other cities. He is now in
the wholesale and retail watch and jewelry business in
Elgin.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE Cheshire Watch Company was incorporated in
October, 1883, with a capital of $100,000. The com-
pany was organized by Messrs. A. E. Hotchkiss and Geo.
J. Capewell, of Cheshire, Conn., who interested capitalists
in the scheme. The first officers were Geo. J. Capewell,
President, and E. R. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer. The
THE FACTORY OF THE CHESHIRE WATCH COMPANY, CHESHIRE, CONN.
factory is located at Cheshire and is a very handsome build-
ing 300 feet in length and 30 feet wide. The model for
the Cheshire was made by Mr. D. A. Buck, the gentleman
who made the original Watei'bury model. This move-
ment is so familiar to the trade that a description is unneces-
sary. In February, 1885, Mr. Brown was succeeded as
(133)
134
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
Secretary and Treasurer by Mr. N. Brigham Hall, who
still occupies that position. Mr. Capewell resigned his
position as President in July, iSS6, and was succeeded by
Mr. John Pearce. Mr. Buck retained the position of Sup-
erintendent until October, 1885.
The capital stock of the company is at present $250,000,
and the product 150 watches per day. The factory has a
capacity of 225 movements
per day. The main office of
the company is situated at
Cheshire, Conn., with a
branch office at 178 Broad-
way, New York. The
present Superintendent is
Henry Aehl, and the fore-
men of the various depart-
ments are as follows: Fore-
man machine department
Paul Simon; plate, F. L.
Wilkinson; gilding, H. Martin; pinion, G. S. Kendrick;
pinion cutting and finishing, W. S. Welton; jeweling, C.
Narthrop; motion, F. S. Brockett; stem wind, Joseph
Jenkins; escapement, C. S. Guernsey; timing, Wm. Davis;
finishing, Thos. Baker; case-room, W. E. Garde; buff-room,
Orrin Hitchcock.
THE CHESHIRE WATCH.
The Manhattan Watch Company was organized in
1SS3 with a capital of $100,000. The company was
organized mainly through the efforts of A. O. Jennings,
who was formerly manager of the Jerome Clock Com-
pany. The factory of the company is located at 15S
Monroe Street, New York City, and the offices of the com-
pany are at 235 Broadway.
PAST AND PRESENT. I35
In 1 886 the capital of the company was increased to
$150,000. The movements which the company manufac-
ture are all i8-size, both open-face and hunting. They
munvifacture all their own cases. The company
are now manufacturing one thousand watches per
week and employ eighty-five hands. The officers of
the company are A. O. Jennings, President; T. B. Jen-
nings, Vice President; P. R.Jennings, Secretary and F. L.
Park, Treasurer; R. G. Jennings is Superintendent.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HERMAN Von Der Heydt, a native of Weisbaden,
Germany, came to this country in 1881. He was a
thorough machanic, having mastei-ed the trade of watch-
maker in one of the technical schools for which his country
is justly famous. He located in Chicago and soon after star-
ted the manufacture of a self-winding watch. He succeeded
in his object in 1S83. This movement he patented Feb. 19,
1S84. In all he has manu-
factured but thirty-four
movements, five of which
were full nickel and the
balance gilt. This watch,
which is peculiar in mechan-
ism, might be termed a
full-plate. It is i8-size,
lever escapement and full
jeweled. The winding
mechanism is of the gravity
variety, consisting of a some-
what heavy steel crescent,
which by the motion of the body moves up and down and
is connected to a ratchet on the winding arbor.
The small number of watches made is accounted for
by the fact that they were all hand made, the inventor
having only at his disposal an American lathe, a heavy
lathe with universal head and the usual outfit of watch re-
pairer's tools. Even then he manufactured the watches
(137)
THE SELF-WINDING WATCH.
138
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
piece-meal taking only such time as he could spare from his
regular business as jeweler and watch repairer. The
watches were all sold as fast as manufactured, the gilt move-
ments bringing $75 and the nickel ones $90 each. Mr.
Von der Heydt has had several flattering offers made him
by watch companies and wealthy jewelers but has always
declined, prefeiring to manufacture the movements himself
without aid at such times as he could get to work on them.
They are finely finished and keep excellent time.
The United States Watch Company, of Waltham,
Mass., was incorporated in July, 1S84, with a capital of
$50,000. The stockholders of the company were Chas.
V. Woerd, who had been connected with the American
Walthan Watch Company for twenty-five years, E. C.
Hammer, T. B. Eaton and Nutting Bros., of Waltham.
The Nutting Bros, and Mr.
Woerd were associated in
business under the name of
the Waltham Watch Tool
Company. The officers of
the company are T. B.
Eaton, President, and E. C.
Hammer, Treasurer. The
company purchased a tract
of land and built a small
factory, into which the
tools, manufactured previously by the Waltham Watch
Tool Company, were moved.
Mr. Woerd made a model for a i6-size, three-quarter
plate watch, having a dome in the centre, in order
to accommodate the center wheel, as the barrel was so wide
that no room was left for it. This watch was a stem-wind.
THE UNITED STATES WATCH.
PAST AND PRESENTi I39
the mechanism of which was patented by Mr. Woerd.
Some tliree thousand of these movements had been made,
up to the fall of 1887, but they had met with a poor
sale, as the movement required a special case.
In November, 1SS7, •^^'' Woerd severed his connection
with the company. The capital stock of the company was
increased to $150,000 and work commenced on a new
inodel "which was a 16-size, three-quarter plate, quick train,
with lever escapement, and expansion balance. Like the
first it was stem wind, using the same machinism, but the
wide barrel was done away with, thus rendering the dome
for center wheel unnecessary. As these watches are not
yet on the market it is impossible to say how they will be
received by the trade.
CHAPTER XXVII.
IN the summer of 18S5, J. C. Adams visited Peoria, 111.,
to interest the capitalists of that city in a watch factor}-
enterprize, as described in Chapter XIX. As a result of
his arguments Messrs. E. F. Baldwin, Albert Truesdale, J.
C. Woelfle, J. L. Flinn, Eustis H. Smith and Fredk.
Eynatten, all citizens of Peoria, went to Fredonia in the
fall of 1885 and inspected the factory. Negotiations were
entered into, which resulted in the sale of the factory to the
Peoria Watch Company, which was incorporated Dec, 19,
18S5, with a capital of $250,000. $150,000 in money, notes
and stock was paid for the Fredonia plant. A building
was started in Peoria in March 18S6, and completed in the
following June, when the Fredonia machinery was moved
into it.
The old Fredonia model was altered over to meet the re-
quirements of a quick-train, railroad watch, i8-size and
fifteen jeweled. Mr. Adams then went on the road and
made several very heavy contracts for the company with
western railroads. In the summer of 1887, Mr. Adams had
sold so many movements that the company was some six
weeks to two months behind with its orders. Complaints
began to come in that the movements were being neg-
lected, that the escapement was faultly and the finish poor.
The superintendent then in charge, G. P. Benezet sent in
his resignation and Ferd. F. Ide of Springfield, 111., was
appointed superintendent. Mr. Adams severed his connec-
tion with the companv April 14, iSSS.
142 THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
The company employs about ninety hands and the pro-
duct is about thirty movements per day. These movements
are all nameless and are known as Grade A, No. i special,
Grade C, Grade D, Grade A. & K., and numbers one to six
inclusive. They are all i8-size, fifteen jeweled, quick
train.
THK FACTORY OF THE PEORIA WATCH COMPANY, AT PEORIA, ILL.
At present the officers of the company are: Eustis H.
Smith, President; W. H. Smith, Treasurer; W. W.
Hammond, Secretary; J. B. Greenhut, Vice Presi-
dent; and Clarence M. Howard, Manager. The direc-
tors are W. W. Hammond, E. S. Smith, J. B.
Greenhut, W. H. Smith, J. C. Woelfle, C. R.
Wheeler and C. M. Howard. Ferd. F. Ide is superinten-
dent and the foremen of the various departments are as fol-
lows: T. M. Younglove, jeweling; W. Earler, damas-
PAST AND PRESENT.
143
keening; D. R. Buchanan, dial; E. F. French, plate room;
F. A. A. Hordon, gilding; J. Frazier, engraving; J. H.
Burns, train room; F. S. Wenk, balances; W. H. H. Mur-
ray, escapement, flat steel and screw; M. Clapp, adjusting
and J. B. Wormwood, machine shop.
The Seth Thomas Clock Company started the manufac-
ture of watches in 18S3. During that year an addition was
made to their clock factory, and the tools and machinery
previously made and purchased were moved into it. The
first watches were placed on the market in 18S5, and were
18-size, three-quarter plate,
open face and stem-wind.
The model for this move-
ment was made by Herman
Reinicke, who acted as
master w^atchmaker for
the company until the
spring of 1886 when he
was succeeded by Chas.
L. Higginbottom. Under
Mr. Higginbottom's admin-
istration a new movement
was turned out, it being a hunting case movement with
a different stem-wind mechanism from the original and
quick train. The company are now turning out one
hundred movements per day, and employ two hundred
hands. Four grades of hvmting and open face movements
are made, and additions will be made to this line as rapidly
as possible.
THE SETH THOMAS WATCH.
The New York Standard Watch Company put its first
product on the market in the fall of 1887. This move-
144
THE WATCH FACTORIES OF AMERICA
ment, which is an i8-size, full plate, straight line, lever-
GF^ "T^%s=-. worm, escapement, stem-
wind and open face, is
novel in construction.
The office of the company
is situated at 83 Nassau
Street and the factory is
at Jersey City, N.J. H.
B. Claflin & Co., New
THE NEW YORK STANDARD WATCH. York, liavc I'ccently been
appointed as wholesale selling agents for the company.
The Wichita Watch Company was organized and in-
corporated in July 1SS7, with a capital stock of $250,000.
The officers are J. R. Sniveley, President, H. W. Lewis,
Treasurer and Irvin Stratton, Secretary. The company
immediately made preparations for building a factory. The
building which was finished June ist, 18S8, is a substantial
structure built of light colored limestone, taken from an
adjacent quarry. It consists of a central building 44 x 54
feet with a wing each side 148 x 30 feet. The central
structure is four stories in height while the wings are three
stories. The engine house is situated immediately back of
the central structure. This building has a capacity for
working six hundred hands and turning out from one hun-
dred and fifty to two hundred watches per day. On both
ends of the building are situated tower-like structures which
are fire escapes. These towers contain winding stair cases,
built of iron and are accessible from each floor through iron
doors. The watch which the company proposes to manu-
facture is an iS-size, half plate, adjusted and full jeweled
and made to fit any American case. No machinery has yet
been placed in the factory although the engine is already
in place and boilers in. It is not definitely known when
operations will be commenced.
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